A monumental anniversary
Terry Fox during his Marathon of Hope
Yesterday, April 12th, marked the 30th anniversary of the beginning of a phenomenon of courage, determination, and strength that would ignite a nation and world with pride and hope and would become something that is truly and uniquely Canadian.
Terry Fox (born July 28, 1958) was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer in March 1977. After doctors recommended amputation of his right leg and chemotherapy treatments to curb the spread of the disease, Fox’s already strong determination grew even stronger as he was walking on his prosthesis three weeks after the amputation and sparked a dream within Fox that would unite a nation.
On April 12th, 1980, after 14 months of training, Fox dipped his artificial foot into the Atlantic Ocean near St. John’s, Newfoundland, and embarked on his “Marathon of Hope” with the dream of raising awareness and money towards combatting cancer. Although Fox’s original goal was to raise $1 million dollars during his Marathon of Hope, this goal quickly grew to raise $1 million dollars for every Canadian resulting in a hope of fundraising a total of $24.17 million dollars.
Although the beginnings of the Marathon of Hope were met with little population support because of not being aware of the efforts of Fox and with little donations, by the time Fox entered Ontario, national response in terms of awareness and donations had gained huge momentum. Fox ran a marathon every day for his dream by running 12 miles before dawn, resting, and running an additional 14 miles in the afternoon. On September 1st, 1980, after 143 days and 5,280 kilometers, Fox experienced a coughing fit just outside of Thunder Bay, ON that would force him into the hospital for observations.
The diagnosis was shocking - the cancer had returned and manifested itself in two golf ball sized masses, one in each of Fox’s lungs. The diagnosis forced Fox to stop his Marathon of Hope never to realize the completion of his dream to run across Canada and dip his right let in the Pacific Ocean in Victoria, BC. Fox passed away on June 28, 1981 in Vancouver, BC after slipping into a coma. The Government of Canada issued an immediate, and unprecedented, order for flags across the country to be lowered to half mast.
Then Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, addressed the House of Commons, stating, “It occurs very rarely in the life of a nation that a courageous spirit of one person unites all people in the celebration of his life and in the mourning of his death…We do not think of him as one who was defeated by misfortune but as one who inspired us with the example of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.”
The first Terry Fox Run was held on September 13th, 1981 and his legacy continues as annual Terry Fox Runs are held in communities and schools across Canada and in 53 countries world-wide each September with over $500 million dollars being raised to-date for cancer research in his name. It is hard to find a Canadian who has not heard of Terry Fox; ran, walked, or rode a bike in a Terry Fox Run; or been touched by the proceeds of his fundraising. As Terry’s legacy continues, may we, as Canadians, continue to honour his dream so that cancer research continues.
