Many have heard of the name Terry Fox in Canada as he is a national icon. What allowed him to be so great, so famous in Canada? Was it because he was a cancer activist or because of the huge idea to run across Canada? I believe it is both. Terrance Stanley Fox or Terry fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on July 28 1958. He was one of four children.
Throughout his childhood and teenage years Terry has shown strong determination to achieve his goals. As a child Terry had always wanted to play basketball for his school. Unfortunately, he was not very good at this sport. He practiced until in eighth grade when he made the basketball team. His coach advised him to take up a different sport such as running or soccer due to his short height. Although
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he did take up running, Terry being the determined man as he was, decided to continue with basketball and a few years later he started as a point guard. Through determination to stick to his passion of playing basketball he managed to become very good at the sport. Fast forward some time later and Terry Fox and his family is currently living in British Columbia and Terry is diagnosed with bone cancer after feeling pain in his right knee.
This pain was initially thought as pain received when Terry got into a car accident four months earlier but should have disappeared within that time. When the doctors decided to x-ray his knee they confirmed the pain was because of a type of bone cancer. The doctor said his best course of action was to cut off his right leg to prevent the spreading of cancer cells. After the operation, Terry continued to receive cancer treatment to be on the safe side as well as go through physiotherapy as he had to walk around with a new amputated …show more content…
leg. While getting treated Terry saw many people who had cancer, some with the face of hope while others have lost hope.
This is when he wanted to do something for those with cancer, to give them hope. After reading about another man with an amputation that ran a marathon, Terry decided to run across the country to raise awareness for cancer as he had taken up running in his earlier life. He started his training, taking it step by step, slowly increasing the amount he runs per day. Finally, in 1980 he started the Marathon of Hope. He started by dipping his right leg into the Atlantic Ocean in St. Johns, Newfoundland and ran. At first nobody really knew what he was doing or why. He had raised little money and had to fight against extreme conditions. To uplift his spirits a town in Newfoundland donated ten thousand dollars and the CEO of the large company Sharp offered to donate two dollars for every mile Terry ran. Once he made it to Ontario, many knew about his marathon and many often ran with him if they saw him. He met with many of Canadian celebrities including the Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, Bobby Orr and Darryl Sittler. The latter of the 3 donated as well.
Sadly, on September 1st, Terry had to stop his marathon as cancer had infected his lungs. He went back to British Columbia to get treatment. Less than a year later he had died due to the cancer in his lungs. Although he may have died his given those with cancer hope again with the amount of money raised for cancer research.
He had also inspired the entire country to help those with cancer by donating. To this day, Terry Fox’s legacy is still relevant. Many schools have their annual Terry Fox walk and fund raiser for cancer research, showing that Terry’s efforts were not in vain. Like Nelson Mandela, Terry Fox is a leader. He has shown the ability to have draw out the courage in others, lead in the front but remembered his roots and lead from the back, allowing for others to believe they’re in front. It is clearly shown that Terry had raised the hope and thereby inspiring those who have cancer to move beyond their fear of death by showing how well he recovered from his treatment as well as raising money for them. Terry Fox lead in the front as he was the first with such a big ambition to run across the whole country but remembered his start and used his previous experience for help. He also led from the back by allowing others to run with him as well as asking for them to donate for cancer research, allowing them to believe they are the real reason cancer research will find a cure. Therefore, implying the courage, leading from the front and leading from the back strategies, Terry Fox is a leader just like Nelson Mandela
Wes Moore, the author, had many important role models in his life that would eventually enable him to live up to his full capability. Uncle Howard, Wes’ mother’s brother, filled the hole that was left when Moore’s father died and when“[he] was eleven… and having difficulty in and out of the classroom [he could lean] on Uncle Howard’s shoulder”. Moore’s uncle was the man who convinced Moore that he could achieve more than just basketball at school, that education would allow him to reach his full potential. The persuasion to drop basketball as a career, enabled
In the story "Running for His Life", Michael Hall explains the genocide that Gilbert Tuhabonye experienced when he was in high school in East Africa and how he managed to escape and begin a new life in Austin, Texas. Friends of theirs burned and beat to death the teachers and Tutsi teenagers. However, if students tried to evacuate the building they would be killed. The building was on fire, burning corpses, and burning to death many students. Gilbert tried to commit suicide since he could not bear the situation he was in but he did not succeed. Gilbert expected to be killed when he broke the window and jumped out of it, but no one visually perceived him and took the opportunity to escape. A decade later, Gilbert lived in Austin, Texas. He became known as one of the most popular adept running coach 's in town, and a former national champion. With a mission to win an Olympic medal, and to tell his story, of the heinous crime he experienced. Demonstrating what one man, set on fire and left to die can do (Hall 601-604).
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Longboat ran his first competitive race at age 17, although he didn't win, it gave him a feel of what it is like to run and pushed him to improve his strength and endurance. The training paid off for Longboat, winning him the Victorian Day race, with more than 400 yards ahead of the nearest competitor. The next race for Longboat would be the Hamilton Herald Around the Bay race along a 19-mile course. When he lined up at the starting line, no one there had ever heard of him, and he was given one hundred to one odds at winning. By the end of the race, everyone knew who he was. Next, Longboat had in his sights was the Boston Marathon, and he won the race with a record time. With the Boston Marathon won, it was time to face the London Olympics. Sadly, he could not finish this race due to the heat. Another one of Longboat's accomplishments came when war broke out, and he signed up for war and was a messenger running between command post delivering messages when communication was down. Throughout all these achievements, they didn't come easy, and Longboat had to overcome many
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Terry Fox, he was the greatest, bravest and the most generous man who risked his life for saving thousands of people from cancer. He became the perfect example of seizing a fulfilling life by never giving up to achieving the goal. He was born in Winnipeg Manitoba on July 28 1958. He was a remarkable athlete, yet at the age of eighteen, he found that he had bone cancer. He lost a left leg and he was no longer able to run or move like before; nevertheless, he was inspired by other cancer patients at hospital and promised himself to do something good to the world. His marathon began on April 12, 1980 and he ran 5,373 kilometers in 143 days. Eventually, cancer forced him to stop running, yet he completed his dream of raising one dollar from each of Canada's 24 million people.
Terry knew that aches and pains are common in athlete’s lives. At the end of his first year of university there was a new pain in his knee. One morning Terry woke up to see that he could no longer stand up. A week later Terry found out that it was not just an ache he had a malignant tumor; his leg would have to be cut off six inches above the knee. Terry’s doctor told him that he had a chance of living but the odds were fifty to seventy percent. He also said that he should be glad it happened now fore just 2 years ago the chance of living was fifteen percent. The night before his operation a former coach brought Terry a magazine featuring a man who ran a marathon after a similar operation. Terry didn’t want to do something small if he was going to do something he was going to do it big. "I am competitive" Terry said, "I’m a dreamer. I like challenges. I don’t give up. When I decided to do it, I knew it was going to be all out. There was no in between Terry’s sixteen month follow up he saw all the young people suffering and getting weak by the disease. He never forgot what he saw and felt burdened to thoughts that died to run this marathon. He was one of the lucky one in three people to survive in the cancer clinics. Terry wrote asking for sponsorship " I could not leave knowing that these faces and feelings would still be here even though I would be set free of mine, s...
...wenty years after his tragic death, he continues to inspire distance runners across the nation with his impressive times, great quotes, and unique running ability.
Terry Fox had all the obstacles lined up and he knocked them down, although the malignant tumor in his right leg finally overwhelmed Terry, he still overcame numerous obstacles. Terry Fox dealt with the tumor in his leg and overcame the amputation of his leg. He also managed to train for the marathon of hope, even though overcoming a physical and emotional amputation. He also was able to start his run for the marathon of Hope, by attempting to run across Canada raising money as he ran. Even though Terry Fox did not complete his goal, he still lives on today in our currency, stamps, and many more ways.
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