for those of you reading from other countries, you may or may not have heard the name. terry fox was raised just outside of my hometown, vancouver. since i was a little kid i ran the terry fox run every fall, and even throughout highschool would listen once a year as teachers, students, or anyone who wanted gave emotional speeches in his name.
terry fox died when he was only 21 years old, on june 28th, 1981. his right leg had been amputated a few years before, and though he continued to play sports in a wheelchair and run competitively, he was frustrated with the limitations his cancer imposed. he had an idea to run across canada and raise money for cancer research. he began the marathon of hope in 1980 in st. john's, newfoundland- his goal was to raise one dollar for every 24 million canadian citizens.
he was forced to stop running in thunder bay, ontario, after 143 days. he ran the equivilent of a marathon on each of those days, rain or shine, with one leg.
though i have been very lucky and healthy in this life and am blessed to have healthy people around me, i don't want to take this for granted, ever.
thank you terry fox.
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