Terry Fox
Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox,
CC (
July 28,
1958 –
June 28,
1981) was a
Canadian humanitarian,
athlete, and
cancer treatment
activist. He became famous for his
Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, running with only one leg. He is considered one of Canada's greatest heroes of the
20th Century, and is now beginning to be celebrated all around the world. He is celebrated every September all around the world as people participate in the '
Terry Fox Run', the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.
Terry (Terrance) Fox was born in
Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada to Rolly and Betty Fox. He was raised with his two brothers and sister in the family home on Morrill Street in
Port Coquitlam,
British Columbia, Canada.
His goal in life was to become a
physical education teacher. After graduating with honours in high school, he applied to
Simon Fraser University in
Burnaby, British Columbia and was accepted as a kinesiology student.
In 1977, after feeling pain in his right knee, he was diagnosed with
osteosarcoma. At the time the only way to treat his condition was to remove his right leg several inches above the knee. Three years after losing his right leg at age 18, the young athlete decided to run from coast to coast in order to
raise money for
cancer research. In creating the Marathon of Hope, his goal was to raise $1.00 from every Canadian citizen.
Terry began by dipping his
artificial leg in the
Atlantic Ocean at
St. John's,
Newfoundland on
April 12,
1980. He aimed to dip it again in the
Pacific Ocean at
Victoria, British Columbia. He also filled two large bottles with Atlantic Ocean water; his plan was to keep one as a souvenir and pour the other one into the Pacific.His plan was to run about 42
km (26.2 miles) a day, the distance of a typical
marathon. No one had ever done anything similar to the task Fox was undertaking.
Unfortunately, Terry Fox could not finish his run. The cancer had spread to his lungs, and he was forced to abandon the course on
September 1, 1980 just northeast of
Thunder Bay, Ontario after 143 days. He had run 5,373 km (3,339 miles, or around 23.3 miles per day) through Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island,
New Brunswick,
Quebec, and
Ontario.
 |
Terry Fox |
Soon after Fox was forced to stop, the
CTV television network organized a
telethon in hopes of raising additional funds for the cause. Any celebrities within range of
Toronto were invited to participate, and the event raised millions of dollars. Many of the guests paid tribute to Fox; TV actor
Lee Majors called him "the real
Six Million Dollar Man."
The year after his legendary run, Terry Fox died June 28 1981, just one month shy of his twenty-third birthday.
|
The Terry Fox memorial statue, Ottawa |
The most important legacy of Terry Fox has to be the hundreds of millions of dollars raised for cancer research by him and in his name. Part of the research has gone into improving treatments including that of the cancer that ultimately killed Fox. Children who now are diagnosed with osteosarcoma will rarely have amputations, and their lifespans have been greatly increased.
The other lasting legacy of Terry Fox has been the creation of an annual international charity run that raises money for cancer research. The
Terry Fox Run was established a few years after his death and has raised hundreds of millions around the world.
In 1985,
Steve Fonyo, another Canadian who also lost a leg to cancer, successfully ran the full length of Terry's intended course.
Terry Fox also helped remove the stigma that often surrounded disabled persons. He showed that people with physical limitations were able to excel in physical acts that even healthy able-bodied people would struggle to accomplish. He further helped raise the profile of cancer and its effects on society. Prior to his marathon, cancer was a little-discussed topic in Canada.
Many schools across
Canada, like
Port Coquitlam, British Columbia's Terry Fox Secondary School, are named in his honour
His story is dramatized in the
1983 HBO TV movie The Terry Fox Story, which the Fox family has criticized for its negative depiction of Terry as having a fiery temper. In that film, he was portrayed by
Eric Fryer, who won the Best Actor award at the
5th Genie Awards in
1984 for his portrayal.
In
2005, a new movie, titled
Terry, was produced by the
CTV television network. In that film, Fox was portrayed by
Shawn Ashmore. Unlike Fryer, however, Ashmore is not himself an amputee; digital editing was used to superimpose a prosthesis over Ashmore's real leg.
Author
Douglas Coupland also chronicled Fox in his 2005 book
Terry - The Life of Canadian Terry Fox.
While Terry Fox was on his Marathon of Hope, a
pop song was composed. "Run Terry Run" was performed by the Nancy Ryan's Singers.
British singer/songwriter
Rod Stewart's 1981 album
Tonight I'm Yours includes the song "Never Give Up On A Dream" (co-written with
Bernie Taupin), a tribute to Terry's Marathon of Hope. Proceeds from the song went towards cancer research.
In a public opinion poll, Terry Fox was voted the most
famous Canadian of the
20th century. He was voted number two on
The Greatest Canadian list.
|
The Terry Fox dollar, issued in 2005 |
*
Companion of the Order of Canada* Voted second at The Greatest Canadian of all time, by popular vote.
*
Order of the Dogwood Premier Bill Bennett presented British Columbia's highest civilian award to Terry Fox.
*
Lou Marsh Trophy of 1980
* Named athlete of the year in his final year of high school
* Named
Canadian Newsmaker of the Year, 1980
*
CCGS Terry Fox is a
Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker.
* Port Coquitlam Senior Secondary School was renamed
Terry Fox Secondary School in
1986. Its new building, opened
1999, retains the Fox name. Also around the country are
Terry Fox Elementary School (
Abbotsford, BC), Terry Fox Junior High School (
Calgary, AB), Terry Fox Elementary School (
Orléans, ON), Terry Fox Public School (
Toronto, ON), Terry Fox Public School (
Brampton, ON), Terry Fox Elementary School (
Laval, QC), École primaire Terry Fox (
Pierrefonds/
Montreal, QC), and Terry Fox School (
Saint-Hubert, QC).
* On May 23, 2006, it was announced that a new school being constructed in Bathurst, New Brunswick would be named Terry Fox Elementary School. This is the first school in Atlantic Canada to bear his name, and it will open in September 2006.
* Beginning
April 4, 2005, a special-edition regular-circulation
Canadian dollar coin depicting Fox began circulating.
*
Mount Terry Fox (; summit 2,650
metres), near
Valemount, British Columbia is named in his honour, as well as
Mount Terry Fox Provincial Park*More found here - http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/about%20terry%20fox/honours/default.asp?s=
*
Terry Fox Run Site*
CBC Digital Archives - Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope*
CBC Digital Archives - Terry Fox 25: Reliving the Marathon of Hope*
BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum*
Order of Canada Citation*
CBC.ca - 25 Years of Hope: The Legacy of Terry Fox*
Bibliography
*
Biography from the Terry Fox Foundation *
Biography at Simon Fraser University website
