How Godfrey “GW” Biscamp Realized His Dream of Flying Again

Baylor St. Luke's Physicians Return Pilot to the Sky

As a test pilot for a defense contractor, Godfrey “GW” Biscamp tested fighter jets to the maximum to discover their limits. In one test, he was forced to eject, which is a last resort and quite violent. GW’s spine was compressed, his shoulder tendons torn, and diaphragm pushed into his ribcage. He recovered in the short term, though years later he began having trouble breathing and had repeated bouts of pneumonia, and as a result, his pilot medical certificate was revoked.

After being unsuccessfully treated for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, incorrectly diagnosed with a failing heart, and put in hospice at other hospitals, GW transferred to St. Luke’s Health–Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center where pulmonologists quickly determined he needed a lung transplant, not a heart transplant, as he had been told elsewhere.

GW successfully received his lung transplant through Baylor St. Luke’s Lung Transplant Program and achieved his dream of flying again.

“I never dreamed I would set foot in an airplane again. What [the hospital has] given me is more than I ever could’ve asked for,” said Godfrey. “Baylor St. Luke’s doctors really care, and it says a lot that they’re willing to take on some of the toughest cases out there.”

The team that worked with GW includes Dr. Gabriel Loor, Dr. Michele Loor, Dr. Christina Kao, Dr. Gloria Li, Dr. Amit Parulekar, Dr. Goutham Dronavalli and nurse practitioner Lauren Tezak. The Lung Transplant Program at the Cooley Transplant Center at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center has been performing successful lung transplants since the 1990s, continually striving to meet the needs of patients through innovative breakthrough research and leading-edge technology.