Terry Fox's birthday is today. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Port Coquitlam, BC. He was an active teenager involved in many sports. When he was 18 years old he was diagnosed with osteongenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 CM above the knee in 1977. While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope. After 18 months of running over 5,000 KM to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John's Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. It was shown on our local evening news and I remember them telling us of the local boy from Port Coquitlam and what he was setting out to do.
Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew. Our local news followed him constantly updating the local viewers. As the days wore on the money started coming in! Terry wore a prosthetic leg and to watch him run was heart wrenching. He ran close to 42 KM's a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. On September 1st after 143 days of running a marathon a day and 5,373 KM, Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28 1981 at the age of 22. The heroic Canadian was gone but his legacy was just beginning. In May 2016, over $715 Million dollars has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world. Over 9,000 communities participate in this run in Canada! Around the world over 25 countries also participate.
Lexi came home one day from school and told me they watched the film about Terry's life. They did this in preparation of the school's Terry Fox run. I'm not sure of the rest of Canada but school districts in the Vancouver area do a fund raiser every year to collect money for the Terry Fox Foundation. Terry's brother Darrell is the head of the foundation and has dedicated his life to cancer research. The foundation is 100% volunteer!
Terry's mother Betty and father Rolly participated in the Terry Fox run in Port Coquitlam for years, Betty was asked to carry the Olympic flag in the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics held in Vancouver. She passed away in 2011. Rolly passed away in 2016 at the age of 80.
His legacy lives on and one day cancer will be cured. Today if you got the same type of cancer your leg would not be amputated but reconstructed and the cure rate is 80%! They've come a long way with research.
In 1981, Isadore Sharp, Chairman and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, telegrams the Fox family with a commitment to organize a fund raising run that would be held every year in Terry’s name. He writes, “You started it. We will not rest until your dream to find a cure for cancer is realized.”
He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope. After 18 months of running over 5,000 KM to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John's Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. It was shown on our local evening news and I remember them telling us of the local boy from Port Coquitlam and what he was setting out to do.
Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew. Our local news followed him constantly updating the local viewers. As the days wore on the money started coming in! Terry wore a prosthetic leg and to watch him run was heart wrenching. He ran close to 42 KM's a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. On September 1st after 143 days of running a marathon a day and 5,373 KM, Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28 1981 at the age of 22. The heroic Canadian was gone but his legacy was just beginning. In May 2016, over $715 Million dollars has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world. Over 9,000 communities participate in this run in Canada! Around the world over 25 countries also participate.
Lexi came home one day from school and told me they watched the film about Terry's life. They did this in preparation of the school's Terry Fox run. I'm not sure of the rest of Canada but school districts in the Vancouver area do a fund raiser every year to collect money for the Terry Fox Foundation. Terry's brother Darrell is the head of the foundation and has dedicated his life to cancer research. The foundation is 100% volunteer!
Terry's mother Betty and father Rolly participated in the Terry Fox run in Port Coquitlam for years, Betty was asked to carry the Olympic flag in the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics held in Vancouver. She passed away in 2011. Rolly passed away in 2016 at the age of 80.
His legacy lives on and one day cancer will be cured. Today if you got the same type of cancer your leg would not be amputated but reconstructed and the cure rate is 80%! They've come a long way with research.
In 1981, Isadore Sharp, Chairman and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, telegrams the Fox family with a commitment to organize a fund raising run that would be held every year in Terry’s name. He writes, “You started it. We will not rest until your dream to find a cure for cancer is realized.”
