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Notable Accomplishments
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Notable Accomplishments
Back to where it all started.
In 1996, just 10 months after Kelly's transplant,
she hiked up the backside of one of the most world recognized
formations. This time, nearly 12 years later, Kelly went back to the
"scene of the climb", but this time scaling the sheer face.
And if that was not emotional enough, Kelly and Craig were met by over
150 supports on top, all wearing red t-shirts, standing in formation of
a Human Heart. These "Human Heart Supporters" waited in the heat of the
day after a grueling 8.5 (one-way) hike uphill, just to be a witness and
participant to history.
Click
Here to read more about the climb.
Craig and Kelly explored, identified and made a first ascent on a new
route and peak that had never been climbed in the Cajon de Arenales
Region of Argentina. It was a fitting tribute to the scientists and
medical professionals who have made profound changes by venturing into
the unknown in search of better treatments. Their new Peak has
officially been dubbed
Montaña de
la
Reflexión (Reflection
Mountain), and their new route is now called
Corazón
Encantado,
Charmed Heart.
Click
Here to read more about the climb.
In Kelly and
Craig’s relentless pursuit to globally share positive examples of organ
donation, they chose to climb El
Capitan in Yosemite Valley,
California. With a sheer vertical exposure of 3,000 feet, El
Capitan is one of the most famous "Big Wall" rock climbs in the world,
and was specifically chosen due to a natural “heart shaped” formation on
the Southwest face. Their goals were realized in what became one of the
most visually symbolic donor messages when they climbed up and through
the enormous granite “heart”. Click Here
to read
more about the climb.
After
receiving an inspirational email suggestion from a fellow climber (and
bone marrow recipient) based in Australia back in 2001, Craig and Kelly
were prompted to climb Mt. Aspiring in hopes of raising awareness to the
low organ donor rates in New Zealand. As it turns out, their
climbing date that was over a year in the planning, coincided with one
of the coldest and most precipitous Kiwi Summers in over 40 years.
While the goal was to climb Mt. Aspiring, dangerous conditions on the
mountain forced them to pursue an adjacent peak, Mt. Rolling Pin. Their
alternate climb did not disappoint them as the challenge of the mountain
and surrounding beauty and successful summit lived up to everyone's
expectations.
Kelly and
Craig climbed to the top of the Matterhorn in Switzerland, one of the
most recognized mountains in the world. This mountain was
chosen for two reasons. First, just before Kelly’s diagnosis, Craig and
Kelly had been traveling through Switzerland hiking in the shadow of the
Matterhorn looking up at the majestic peak as being somewhat
unattainable. Secondly, after Kelly was initially diagnosed and airlifted from an Orange County California hospital to Good Samaritan
Hospital in Los Angeles, the helicopter pilot banked over the Matterhorn
“replica” at Disneyland. It may have been nothing, but maybe it was a
sign of Kelly’s past and future.
Kelly climbed to the top of
the tallest mountain in the continent of Africa, one of the world’s
seven summits, 19,340-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. This
mountain was chosen to recognize the historic medical milestone and
technological advances since the first heart transplant took place in South
Africa back in 1967. By Craig and Kelly climbing to the “roof of
Africa”, they hoped to honor those donors and recipients who have paved
the way for the many successful heart transplant and subsequent fruitful
lives that were to follow.
Kelly hiked to the top of
the highest peak in Japan, Mt. Fuji, in celebration of a new law that
would legalize heart transplantation. In climbing Japan’s most sacred
mountain, Craig and Kelly sought to give hope to patients waiting for heart
transplants in Japan.
Kelly hiked to the top of
Mt. Whitney, 14,496’, the tallest mountain in the Continental United
States. Because Kelly had done this hike prior to contracting the virus
that ultimately destroyed her heart,
she is the only person known to have climbed this mountain with two
different hearts.
-
September 1996 - Half Dome, California -
USA
Approximately ten months
after her transplant, Kelly hiked the famous Mist Trail to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite, a
4,100-foot ascent up to an elevation of 8,842 feet. This was Kelly's
first major adventure since her transplant.
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