My Impossible founder leads wheelchair climb up Kilimanjaro

Mission possible: Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in a wheelchair

Jeff Harmon is training to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, a towering 19,340-foot peak in Tanzania and the tallest mountain in Africa. Good Day Wake Up anchor Dan Bowens has the story.

NEW YORK - Jeff Harmon is training to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, a towering 19,340-foot peak in Tanzania and the tallest mountain in Africa – and he’s doing it in a wheelchair.

He says he's doing it not despite the wheelchair, but because of it.

"The gratitude that I have is unbelievable."

Diagnosed with adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) in 2006, Jeff slowly lost his ability to walk.

"AMN, Adrenomyeloneuropathy, and I was tested for it, tested positive, and it was a shock."

What is Adrenomyeloneuropathy?

According to the NIH, Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) is an inherited condition that affects the spinal cord. It is a form of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.

On average, people with AMN begin to develop features in the late twenties.

By 2017, he was using a wheelchair. But Jeff didn't see it as a setback. Instead, he saw it as an opportunity.

"I see my place in a wheelchair as a responsibility to challenge myself. Not just for me, but as a testimony to others of what you're capable of."

Pushed, pulled, lifted — together

AMBOSELI, KENYA - NOVEMBER 19: Snow at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, Kajiado County, Amboseli, Kenya on November 19, 2021 in Amboseli, Kenya. (Photo by Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images)

FOX 5 NY's Dan Bowens stopped by a training session on a cold, wet day.

In the rain, soaked and muddy, Jeff was there with his team: a group of people from F3 (Fitness, Fellowship & Faith), who helped push and lift him during workouts and obstacle course races.

"We have no excuses. None of us do. And collectively, we push through every challenge."

Their sights are set on Kilimanjaro, a 19,340 foot climb that typically takes four days.

"Kilimanjaro is called one of the most trekable mountains in the world, and it is, but it's still impossible. I couldn’t do it alone."

The Spartan challenge

Before aiming for Africa’s highest peak, Jeff completed a series of Spartan Races, grueling, military-style obstacle courses, with the most recent one this spring at Mountain Creek in New Jersey.

They’re part of his training and his mindset.

A foundation called My Impossible

A giraffe stands on the savannah with snowy Mount Kilimanjaro in the background in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. (Photo by Mushfiqul Alam/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

While Jeff and 30 teammates prepare for the Sept. climb, his wife, Sandy Harmon, is supporting the mission from home with their two kids and with the My Impossible Foundation, which Jeff launched to help others pursue bold goals of their own.

"A lot of people ask me, are you afraid something bad might happen?" Sandy said. "I really don’t have any fear about it, because he's with such a great team of people."

"We’ve been working toward this for two years, and now it’s three months away. So what’s going to happen when it’s over? What will life look like after that? We hope the foundation just keeps moving forward."

Jeff sees the foundation as a way to pass on what he’s learned.

"Whether it’s logistics, like how in the world do I travel to Denali or Kilimanjaro, we can come alongside people and help them plan and execute it. We want to be a foundation where people can get the support they need to achieve their impossible."