Medical Research Activist. He became a Canadian national hero as the one-legged Marathon of Hope runner. After being diagnosed in 1977 with osteogenic sarcoma, a type of bone cancer, Terry Stanley Fox had his right leg amputated above the knee in an attempt to impede the advancing cancer. He devised a fundraising run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research. He started at St. John's Newfoundland, Canada's easternmost city, on April 12, 1980, running an average of 33 km/20 miles per day using a distinctive hop-skip gait on his prosthetic leg. He became an inspiration to all Canadians. He was forced to stop on September 1, 1980, at Thunder Bay, Ontario, after covering 5,373 km/3,332 miles when the cancer was found to have metastasized in his lungs. He raised $24 million for the cause before his death in 1981, a month short of his 23rd birthday. Now, every year in September, millions of people in Canada and around the world celebrate his legacy and continue his dream in the annual Terry Fox Run. He was made the youngest-ever Companion of the Order of Canada, and he was twice named Canadian of the Year. A bronze full-sized statue of him is located in downtown Ottawa.
Medical Research Activist. He became a Canadian national hero as the one-legged Marathon of Hope runner. After being diagnosed in 1977 with osteogenic sarcoma, a type of bone cancer, Terry Stanley Fox had his right leg amputated above the knee in an attempt to impede the advancing cancer. He devised a fundraising run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research. He started at St. John's Newfoundland, Canada's easternmost city, on April 12, 1980, running an average of 33 km/20 miles per day using a distinctive hop-skip gait on his prosthetic leg. He became an inspiration to all Canadians. He was forced to stop on September 1, 1980, at Thunder Bay, Ontario, after covering 5,373 km/3,332 miles when the cancer was found to have metastasized in his lungs. He raised $24 million for the cause before his death in 1981, a month short of his 23rd birthday. Now, every year in September, millions of people in Canada and around the world celebrate his legacy and continue his dream in the annual Terry Fox Run. He was made the youngest-ever Companion of the Order of Canada, and he was twice named Canadian of the Year. A bronze full-sized statue of him is located in downtown Ottawa.
Inscription
He made his too short life
into a marathon of
courage and hope.
"Somewhere the hurting must stop." Terry
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