Moving On.... and On

To wrap up my series on men who knew how to carry and die on their own crosses, I give you the man who, despite his handicap, changed lives by literally 'moving' on. He is considered as a hero in his homeland and I hope he becomes one of ours too.

TERRY FOX : RUNNING WITH DREAMS!

"I'm not a dreamer, and I'm not saying this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles. I have to."

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox, CC (July 28, 1958 -June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete and cancer treatment activist. He became famous for the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, running with one prosthetic leg. He is considered one of Canada's greatest heroes of the 20th century and is celebrated internationally every September 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.

Young Terry was always an active sports fan, with diving being his favourite. As a teenager he won numerous medals in diving and swimming competitions and impressed many people with his stamina and endurance. Though many of his instructors encouraged him to stay with water sports and train professionally, Terry instead pursued another dream, which was to become a physical education teacher. After graduating with honours from Port Coquitlam Senior Secondary (the school which was later renamed for him), he applied to Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia and was accepted as a kinesiology student. Terry was an active student at SFU and participated in a variety of on-campus clubs and groups.

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 amputate his right leg several inches above the knee. Three years after losing his 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 when he arrived in 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 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 north-east 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.

Soon after Terry 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". Terry Fox died on June 28, 1981, the year after his legendary run exactly one month shy of his twenty-third birthday.

"How many people do something they really believe in? I just wish people would realize that anything's possible if you try. Dreams are made if people try." - Terry Fox

From Wikipedia