The Province

Canada 150: Terry Fox captures our hearts

To mark Canada’s 150th birthday, we are counting down to Canada Day with profiles of 150 noteworthy British Columbians.

- Stephen Hume shume@islandnet.com

Does any image speak to Canadians of courage, fortitude and perseveran­ce more than that of a young man crossing a vast, empty land with the halting rhythm of a hitching half-jog imposed by his missing right leg?

Terry Fox has now been dead longer than he was alive. Yet, the spirit revealed in that grainy chronicle of an epic quest doomed to disappoint­ment still galvanizes. Failure proved triumph. Every year, millions take to the roads in tribute, and funds raised in his name from Terry Fox Runs now exceed $700 million.

He was born Terrance Stanley Fox in Winnipeg, July 28, 1958, second of Betty and Rolly Fox’s four children. His dad, a railway switchman, transferre­d to B.C. in 1966. The family settled in Port Coquitlam. Terry flung himself into his new life.

Basketball became his passion. He was too short, had no skills, and was steered to running and wrestling. Instead, he practised all summer. In Grade 8, he claimed the last spot on the Mary Hill Junior High lineup. He played one minute. Two seasons later, he was starting guard and Athlete of the Year. At Port Coquitlam High, he started at basketball, soccer, rugby and cross-country. In Grade 12, he was Athlete of the Year. He made Simon Fraser University’s junior varsity side. Then, in 1977, still only 18, he was diagnosed with bone cancer. His leg would have to come off above the knee.

He didn’t give up on his hoop dreams, just redirected them. That summer, Rick Hansen invited him to play with Vancouver Cable Cars, a wheelchair basketball team. He played three nights a week in a chair provided by his dad’s CNR co-workers. Terry made all-star for North America in 1980.

During chemothera­py, he had read about an amputee who ran the New York Marathon. Terry ran one in Prince George, then planned a Marathon of Hope to raise funds for cancer research. His plan was to raise $24 million — one dollar for each Canadian. As the snows melted away in 1980, he dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic and began a run to Vancouver. By Ontario, he was a media sensation. Then, abruptly, near Thunder Bay, having run 5,373 kilometres, he stopped. Cancer was back. He returned to hospital and, not yet 23, died there in 1981. Twenty-three years after his death, he placed second on the CBC’s all-time list of Greatest Canadians.

 ??  ?? Terry Fox, shown with his parents, Betty and Rolly, inspired a nation with his cross-Canada run.
Terry Fox, shown with his parents, Betty and Rolly, inspired a nation with his cross-Canada run.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada