On 7 January 1999 Aaron contracted Meningitis C. and Meningococcal sepsis. As a result of this illness Aaron was in a controlled coma for 2 weeks. Following this, in March, it was required that his legs and most of his fingers be amputated. In total Aaron spent a year in hospital, receiving treatment and recovering.[4]
In 2007 Aaron began to get involved in wheelchair races and raised money for a Meningitis charity by completing a 10 km race in Totton. He has also completed 2 London Marathons (2008 & 2009)[5][6] and in 2009 was ranked 4th UK Male in both the London Marathon and the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon.[7]
On 23 May 2016 Phipps became the first disabled British person to scale Mount Kilimanjaro[8] During large parts of the ascent Phipps was forced to climb on his hands and knees because the wheelchair wasn't capable of traversing the difficult terrain but was able to complete the climb without any assistance.
He was told that he had to be carried up the mountain, but he refused. When climbing the mountain it took twice the time it was predicted to take. On the third day, the wheelchair wasn't capable of traversing up the mountain anymore and so Aaron decided to use knee pads in order to be able to reach the top, with his father carrying the wheelchair.[9]
