What were you doing when you were in your early 20s? Let us tell you what Terry Fox did. He ran more than 5000 km to raise money for cancer research, bringing in almost $700 million. And that is not even the highlight of this story. What is truly astonishing is that Terry completed his cross-Canada journey on one foot. Yes, you read it right! Terry Fox had had his right leg amputated six inches above the knee during his teen years. Let us delve a little into his inspiring life and the amazing feat that he achieved.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Fox had always been an athlete, having participated in several sports like basketball and distance running during his school days and even won the Athlete of the Year award in grade 12. But while everything was going smoothly for Terry, fate had something else planned for him.
It was 1977 when Terry was diagnosed with osteosarcoma which is a form of bone cancer, typically originating from the knee. Since his doctors believed that the best chance of survival for Terry was to get his leg amputated and undergo chemotherapy, that is what he opted for. But even after having lost his leg and only 50 percent chance of surviving, Terry was not the kind of person who would give up on life.
Emotionally overcome by the ordeals of fellow cancer patients in clinic, Terry had made up his mind on doing something for them and the idea of running 8000 km across Canada came to him when he came across an article on Dick Traum who had run in the New York City Marathon. Then, with the dream of navigating the entire country on his one foot, Terry started his training program. It took 15 long months of training and a 5000 km run before Terry believed himself to be ready for his cross-country trek, Marathon of Hope.
On 12 April 1980, Terry finally dipped his prosthetic leg in the sparkling waters of St John’s Harbor and embarked on the greatest journey of his life, a run across Canada. The aim of running 42 km on a daily basis was met more times than not. Though there wasn’t much media coverage on Marathon of Hope in its early days, it grew by leaps and bounds and the communities in Newfoundland came out together in his support. As Terry kept on sprinting towards his destination, more and more people learned about the one-legged man who was running from one end of the country to another for such a noble cause.
Terry Fox, who had only thought of raising about $1 million at the beginning of it all, was surprised to see the staggering response he received. But as the support poured in, the donations reached an unpredictable $700 million.
However, there was a sad end to Terry Fox’s Marathon of hope as on 1 September after having completed 5373 km in 143 days; he was forced to stop running since cancer had now spread to his lungs. The hero passed away nine months later on 28 June 1981 when he was just 22.
Though Terry is no longer among us, his contribution to cancer research can never be forgotten. He has certainly made the lives of other cancer patients easy. In addition to that, he continues to inspire us to do things that we think are right. We hope that Terry Fox’s inspiring story would also have inspired you to live your life to the fullest and do something for others whenever you get the chance.
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