Terry Fox was born on July 28th, 1958 in Winnipeg Manitoba to Betty and Rolly Fox. Terry was an avid basketball player and played on the SFU junior varsity team while he was attending as a Kinesiology student. In 1977 when he had been an active sports player, he was diagnosed with bone cancer. As he underwent chemotherapy, the cancer had spread and resulted in the amputation of six inches above the knee on his right leg.
Terry was inspired to raise money for cancer research when he had been in the hospital, which is how the Marathon of Hope was created. On April 12, 1980, Terry decided that he was going to run to raise fundraising and he wanted to accomplish it by running across Canada. After starting in Newfoundland and running for 143 days, cancer had spread to his lungs. This had caused him to stop his travels in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Throughout his journey, he accomplished running 26 miles per day, 7 days a week.
Terry was known for his courage, determination, and selflessness as he became an inspiration to all of Canada, and around the world. At the age of 22, Terry lost his battle to cancer on June 28th, 1981.
Terry was recognized for many honors and awards during and after his life. Four of the more notable awards he had received just before his passing was in October 1980. He received the British Columbia’s highest civilian award: The Order of the Dogwood, in November 1980, The American Cancer Society presented Terry with their highest award, The Sword of Hope, in August 1981. Terry was also inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, and in June 1999, in a national survey, Terry was voted Canada’s Greatest Hero.
Sources Used For This Page:
youtube.com, sfu.ca/terryfox, terryfox.org, and thecanadianencyclopedia.ca