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Tery Fox: His legacy is timeless

By Lynne Bell听

听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淗is legacy is timeless.鈥� That's one of the things Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden has to say about Terry Fox.

听听听听听听听听听听听 This year, the 35^th annual edition of the Terry Fox run will take place throughout Canada and in countries throughout the world. Not only is Terry Fox's reach global; it also spans generations and my dear editor and I are living proof.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Often, Kelly and I are scratching our heads to come up with topics for this column-not because there aren't things to write about-but often because we tend to share a lot of the same opinions.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Which brings me to this week....Do we disagree on anything regarding Canadian hero Terry Fox, his mission, or his legacy? Of course not! But we do see things differently (coincidentally, the name of this weekly feature), so we found a most deserving loophole-and a meaningful topic-for this week's column.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Terry Fox was only 18-years-old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma-more commonly known as bone cancer. As a result, this promising athlete had to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee.

听听听听听听听听听听听 In 1977, while in hospital, he was: 鈥渟o overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.鈥�

听听听听听听听听听听听 Terry started what became the Marathon of Hope in St. John's, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980, with little fanfare. However, momentum grew and he soon became a familiar and beloved figure to Canadians as his punishing daily 42km/26 mile run continued through the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario. When he was forced to stop running on September 1, 1980 when cancer reappeared in his lungs, most of us wept.

听听听听听听听听听听听 And when this astonishingly determined and courageous young man lost his battle with cancer on June 28, 1981 at the age of 22, we wept then, too.

听听听听听听听听听听听 People of Kelly's generation are no less affected or moved by Terry Fox's story. They grew up with his story at home or in school and can easily witness what some of us saw on TV news over three decades ago via the Internet.

听听听听听听听听听听听 However, Kelly and I both agree that no matter how you experienced Terry's story, Jann Arden is right: His legacy is timeless.

听听听听听听听听听听听 In a world where the word 鈥渉ero鈥� is overused, Terry Fox is the real deal. And that's one of the reaons that after 35 years, the Marathon of Hope is still going strong, as Canadians of all generations and walks of life vow to finish the walk for Terry.

听听听听听听听听听听听 The other, sadder reason, is that although progress has been-and continues to be made-too many of us-whatever our ages-have experienced cancer.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Although the very first Marathon of Hope was cut short after 143 days and 5,373 km/3,339 miles, Terry Fox's legacy took on a life of its own.

听听听听听听听听听听听 To date, over $650 million has been raised for cancer research through the Marathon of Hope. This year, the Terry Fox Foundation aims to raise one dollar for every Canadian.

听听听听听听听听听听听 I think we can do this. So does Kelly. And that's one thing we don't 鈥渟ee differently.鈥�

听听听听听听听听听听听 For more information, check out .

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The Terry Fox Run

By Kelly Running

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I鈥檓 finding that Lynne and I like to call truces on occasion as we focus on things we agree on in the world or that actually involves our own thoughts and feelings, because when we write pros and cons, we agree on the topic a lot and simply try to present both sides of the argument.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The other week Lynne came up to me and asked, 鈥淲ere you born when Terry Fox ran?鈥� She followed that up with, a probably not.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 And, no, I wasn鈥檛, but I鈥檝e participated in the Terry Fox Run when I was in school for numerous years and having covered events for the paper in the area think I know a little bit about his legacy at least.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Lynne thought an interesting topic might be the different ways we see the run or have participated in it then, because my generation is somewhat removed from his actual run although we are affected by his legacy.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 He is a great Canadian and his legacy is long lasting, this is what I know, whereas Lynne can remember the headlines in the news about him and can remember his efforts as being part of her Canada, not just a legacy.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 This to me is interesting in itself, how something that is happening today has potential to become a legacy and remembered 35 years down the road much like Terry Fox鈥檚 efforts.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I throw out the number 35 because that is how many years the Terry Fox Run has been happening; it was in 1980 that Terry made history with his Marathon of Hope.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Terry had thought he had beat cancer and was determined to raise money for research and to help others with the disease. Additionally, he wanted to change people鈥檚 mentalities surrounding disabilities, there were no limits.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Terry ran through pain at first, but when he was about 20 miles from Thunder Bay, the pain became too much for him, he couldn鈥檛 run through it anymore, and asked his friend to take him to the hospital.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Cancer, what he thought he had beaten when doctors amputated his leg, had spread to his lungs. He vowed to fight this too and he told people, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this is unfair. That鈥檚 the thing about cancer. I鈥檓 not the only one. It happens all the time, to other people. I鈥檓 not special. This just intensifies what I did. It gives it more meaning. It鈥檒l inspire more people. I could have sat on my rear end, I could have forgotten what I鈥檇 seen in the hospital, but I didn鈥檛.鈥�

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The young man passed away one month before his 23 birthday and in his memory as well as for loved ones fighting cancer, over 300,000 people took part in the first ever Terry Fox Run.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It was his story we were told throughout school and it was something that struck home for me at a young age as my opa passed away from cancer when I was in elementary school. The fact that nearly everyone knows someone who is fighting cancer or who has fought it, means that it affects a staggering number of people and is why his legacy, what he inspired in people, has remained 35 years later.