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TAVR Powers Richard To Mount Whitney Peak

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: May 8, 2025

I LOVE getting inspirational updates from heart patients all over the world.

This time, Richard Godbey shared a big milestone for him after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Richard Godbey (TAVR patient) with Son at Mount Whitney

Richard Says...

Here is what Richard wrote to me:

Dear Adam, In October 2023, I had TAVR for aortic stenosis. My interventional cardiologist was Dr. Devang Desai at St. Marys Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada.

After surgery and three months of cardiac rehabilitation, I continued training on my own.

In August 2024... 9 months after TAVR... My son and I climbed Mount Whitney in East-Central California. We climbed Mount Whitney, which has an elevation of 14,505 feet, at the end of our hiking trip on the High Sierra Trail which - we traveled west to east - through Sequoia National Park.

For those facing a valve replacement, I want you to know... There is life after TAVR. And mountains to climb.

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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