Redefine Possible
Olivia McDonald // November 16, 2012
Standing at only a few feet tall, some people would say Spencer views the world differently. What Spencer has done, and continues to do, is create a new perspective on life.
A 31 year-old Wyoming native, Spencer West was born with a rare genetic spinal disorder called Sacral Agenesis. At age five both his legs were amputated below the pelvis. Doctors told his parents that he “would never be a functioning member of society” and would never walk again. Since he was a child, Spencer has been redefining possible. He learned to walk on his hands, he can drive a car, and he made the best of his situation.
In 2011, Spencer spent a year with a personal trainer to once again prove to the world that no matter your ability or disability, nothing is insurmountable. In June 2012, Spencer and his two best friends did what few able-bodied people can boast about; he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the World’s highest free-standing mountain – on his bare hands.
Spencer’s ambitious hike, called Redefine Possible, was to raise money to create clean water programs in Kenya. Spencer and his team helped raise $500,000 for Free the Children, the Canadian-based not-for-profit organization where he currently tours as an inspirational speaker.
The double amputee credits his drive to climb to a little girl he met while volunteering in Kenya. He recounts the story in his blog:
I keep thinking about the little girl I met while volunteering in a Kenyan village a few years ago. She had changed the course of my entire life with just a few simple, honest words. Looking at where my legs would have been she said, “I didn’t know things like this happened to white people.”
I have often wondered if that little girl has been affected by the drought, the worst of its kind in East Africa in 60 years. This was the very reason we launched the Redefine Possible campaign – to raise money for clean-water programming for the East African communities affected by drought. I still don’t know how she and her family fared. But I do know that, as of today, I’ve done something to repay her.
Hearing Spencer speak at Alberta’s first-ever We Day was deeply moving. I was volunteering for the event and for Free the Children, and had followed his journey from the comfort of my home. I had watched him, step by step, conquer the mountain. As he got up on the Saddledome stage at We Day in front of 20,000 students from all across Alberta, a silence instantly fell over the crowd. When he opened his mouth to speak, his warmth and charisma instantly drew thousands in. He found a way to reach out and connect with each and every person watching him as he glided across the stage. His calm voice ascended over the crowd and a feeling of awe took over. Watching him and hearing his story washed away any kind of self-doubt. As he says, “No won’t. No can’t. Only how.”
In his speech, he recounted ‘Summit Day’ – the day before the final climb. His two best friends were hit by massive altitude sickness and were throwing up on the side of the mountain, and Spencer had thought: “Maybe this is it.” He said that, for the first time in his life, he had wished he had legs because he would have, “Picked those guys up and carried them one by one to the summit.” Instead, he said to them, “Guys, let’s walk this together.”
This spring, Spencer and his team will be walking 300km from Edmonton to Calgary to try and raise $150,000 for 100,000 people in the Free the Children Adopt-a-Village programs for permanent clean drinking water. The reasoning behind the Western Canada journey is because of the overwhelming support people demonstrated when he announced his climb of the African mountain. Spencer says the “Walk from Edmonton to Calgary [is so] people can join us along the way.”
To learn more about Spencer’s project or to help support his walk click here.
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Olivia McDonald is a fourth year PR student currently trying to bear the fierce temperatures of Calgary, Alberta. She is an avid consumer of pickles, a proud member of Dumbledore’s Army and a lover of travel.
Olivia’s interests in communication are crisis communications, media relations and social media marketing. Her Twitter handle is: @OliviaMcDonald1
