Inspiration

On April 12, 1980 an artificial limb was dipped in St. John’s Harbour, and a quixotic adventure had begun. Twenty-two year old Terrance Stanley Fox, from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia had lost his right leg to cancer, but pushed his own situation aside to focus on the plight of the young patients around him.  “Somewhere, the hurting must stop………and I was determined to take myself to the limit for those causes.”  Setting out to cross Canada on one healthy leg and one artificial one, he wanted to raise money to find a cure, but even more important to him was making the world aware of the suffering and isolation he witnessed. “I could have sat on my rear end. I could have forgotten what I’d seen in the hospital, but I didn’t.”  Rising before the sun at 4 a.m. each day, he would run twelve miles of lonely expanses of highway before resting, and then complete fourteen more miles before sunset’s glow.  Running through six provinces, he faced extreme weather and road conditions, indifference as well as adulation, but remained steadfast and focused on his goals. “I’m a dreamer. I like challenges. I don’t give up. When I decided to do it, I knew I was going to go all out. There was no in between.”  July 20, 1980 saw Terry welcomed to this town of St. Marys, and on this very property a luncheon was held in his honour.  Many more memories were made along the way for all who witnessed his Marathon of Hope, but none more important to Terry than ten year old Greg Scott of Terrace Bay. On August 7^th, Greg, a fellow amputee, inspired him to take time off for only the forth time in one hundred thirty-seven days to swim together in what Terry described as the most inspirational day of his life.  On a dull September day, after traversing eighteen miles, Terry’s chest pain and cough became unbearable, but he kept running until he acknowledged the last of the roadside spectators. The cancer had returned, and he was taken to hospital.  The steady one-two thump of his good leg, and the thud of his artificial leg had been his rallying cry for 3,339 miles, as he completed a marathon a day for one hundred forty-three days.  He was two-thirds of the way home, but now it was being left to others to complete the journey for Terry. “It took cancer to realize that being self-centred is not the way to live. The answer is to try and help others.”  We must promise to continue his legacy, and always remember this young man who guides and cheers us on through life’s challenges with his determined yet gentle inspiration.