Peekskill, NY – When Mack Godbee taught his daughter how to perform CPR, he never imagined that lesson would one day save his life. Nor could he have predicted that just months later, he’d become the first person in New York State to undergo a rare and complex heart-liver-kidney transplant — one of only a handful performed nationwide.
At 64, Godbee is no stranger to saving lives himself. A longtime community figure, he serves as captain of the City of Peekskill Community Volunteer Ambulance Corps, a CPR instructor, and a retired fireman. But last August, it was his own life that hung in the balance.
A Sudden Collapse and a Heroic Response
On a seemingly normal day in August 2024, Godbee had just returned from a meeting with his ambulance team. He parked his car in the driveway and walked into his house with his belongings. Moments later, while reaching into the back of his car for a flashlight, he suddenly collapsed.
That’s when his daughter, Krista, saw him unresponsive and immediately sprang into action. She pulled him out of the car and began performing CPR — the very technique he had taught her.
The next thing Godbee remembers is waking up in the back of an ambulance en route to the hospital. Thanks to his daughter’s quick thinking, he survived sudden cardiac arrest — a condition with often fatal outcomes when not treated within minutes.
A History of Heart Trouble
This wasn’t Godbee’s first major health crisis. Back in 2002, he received his first heart transplant due to complications from sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that can attack internal organs, including the heart.
For 23 years, that transplant served him well — well beyond the expected 16-year lifespan. But in 2023, Godbee began feeling unusually weak and short of breath. His health declined rapidly, culminating in his cardiac arrest in August.
After stabilizing him with a defibrillator, doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital discovered his heart was failing again — and worse, his kidneys and liver were now deteriorating too. He needed another heart transplant, and both a new kidney and liver to survive.
Facing the Impossible: A Triple Transplant
The odds were daunting. A triple organ transplant — heart, liver, and kidney — is extremely rare, requiring not only a precise match for all three organs, but also a patient strong enough to endure the taxing procedure.
“It didn’t even sound possible,” Godbee recalled. “But the doctors said if I was willing, they were willing to try.”
And he was.
On January 10, 2025, after receiving word that a donor was available for all three organs, Godbee went into surgery. The operation took nearly 20 hours, beginning with the heart transplant, then shifting to teams specializing in liver and kidney procedures.
According to his doctors, it marked the first heart-liver-kidney transplant in New York State, and one of just 58 performed in the U.S. since such procedures began being tracked in 1987.
A Pioneering Procedure at Mount Sinai
Dr. Noah Moss, a transplant cardiologist who had overseen Godbee’s care for a decade, said such surgeries require a rare combination of medical alignment and patient strength.
“You need a patient who’s sick enough to need all three organs, but also strong enough to survive the surgery,” Moss said. “And you need a hospital with the infrastructure, skill, and courage to take it on.”
Godbee had all three.
Dr. Sander Florman, who led the kidney and liver transplants, described Godbee as a “brave patient” who trusted his doctors in the face of enormous risk. “The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Florman said. “He wasn’t going to leave the hospital without a transplant.”
A Second Chance at Life
Now months into recovery, Godbee is back at work as a CPR instructor, working out daily, and planning a trip to Florida to see his grandchildren. He celebrated his 64th birthday with family and a deep sense of gratitude for his second — and perhaps third — chance at life.
“I feel like I’ve gotten a restart,” he said. “I still go to the doctor, I take my medicine, I follow their advice. That’s how I made it this far.”
Dr. Moss added, “He’s back to living the life he wanted — traveling, spending time with family, helping others. He’s thriving.”
Honoring the Gift of Life
While Godbee is rightfully celebrated as a transplant pioneer, he’s quick to point out that his second chance came at a cost: the death of a donor and the generosity of that donor’s family.
“Three organs to one person — it’s a remarkable gift,” said Florman. “Behind every successful transplant is someone who gave everything so another person could live.”
Spreading CPR Awareness
In the wake of his own cardiac arrest and survival, Godbee continues to advocate for CPR training. As someone who’s both taught and personally benefited from the skill, he emphasizes its importance wherever he goes.
“You never know when you might need it,” he said. “I always tell people — think about your family. It could happen anywhere, to anyone.”
According to Mount Sinai, more than 436,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest each year. CPR can double or even triple the chance of survival — yet many people still don’t know how to perform it correctly. One study found that only 17% are aware of the recommended chest-compression-only method, and 49% say they wouldn’t be able to perform CPR in an emergency.
Godbee hopes to change that — one class at a time.
A Life of Service and Resilience
Godbee’s story is not just one of survival, but of resilience, service, and community spirit. With decades of public service behind him — including 23 years as a Peekskill firefighter and 40 years with the ambulance corps — he has saved countless lives.
And now, thanks to groundbreaking medical care, his own life was saved — giving him more time to teach, more time to serve, and more moments with the family who helped bring him back.
As he put it simply: “I think I’m back to the life I was meant to live.”
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