A heart disease diagnosis changed Kelly Perkins. She promised to enjoy her life more than ever. She trained herself back to health, and a few years after received a defibrillator. This kept her alive until she received a heart transplant in 1995.

After that, she and her husband decided to climb Mt. Whitney, as a challenge. After much perseverance, the climb became a success.

Kelly decided to climb Mt Fuji when she learned that heart transplants were virtually non existent in Japan during that time. She wanted to raise awareness on the benefits and success rate of heart transplantation.

In 2001, Kelly and her husband climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, in honor of the surgeon who performed the first transplant, as well as to spread awareness for the procedure that saves lives