Who Is Terry Fox A Hero

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and, and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy.

In March 1977, a pain had intensified and he finally went to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of cancer that often starts near the knees. He was told that his leg had to be amputated, he would require chemotherapy treatment, and that recent medical advances meant he had a 50 percent chance of survival. With the help

of an artificial leg, Fox was walking three weeks after the amputation. Doctors were impressed with Fox's positive outlook, stating it contributed to his rapid recovery. Fox ended his treatment with new purpose: he felt he owed his survival to medical advances and wished to live his life in a way that would help others find courage.

On October 15, 1979, Fox sent a letter to the Canadian Cancer Society in which he announced his goal and appealed for funding. He stated that he would "conquer" his disability, and promised to complete his run, even if he had to "crawl every last mile". On April 1980, Terry Fox began his cross-country Marathon of Hope hopping on one leg. He ran about Forty-two kilometers a day through the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and Ontario. By the time he reached Ontario, Terry was a national star. He met with the Prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, Darryl Sittler and Bobby Orr. Terry fox was truly a great inspiration to all and started to unify the country of Canada.

In spite of his immense recuperative capacity, Fox found that by late August he was exhausted before he began his day's run. On September 1, outside of Thunder Bay, he was forced to stop briefly after he suffered an intense coughing fit and experienced pains in his chest. Unsure what to do, he resumed running as the crowds along the highway shouted out their encouragement. A few miles later, short of breath and with continued chest pain, he asked his friend to drive him to a hospital. He feared immediately that he had run his last kilometer. The next day, Fox held a tearful press conference during which he announced that his cancer had returned and spread to his lungs. He was forced to end his run after 143 days and . Fox refused offers to complete the run in his stead, stating that he wanted to complete his marathon himself. A week after his run ended, the CTV Television Network organized a nationwide telethon in support of Fox and the Canadian Cancer Society. Supported by Canadian and international celebrities, the five-hour event raised $10.5 million. Donations continued throughout the winter, and by the following April, over $23 million had been raised.

Terry Fox was named Canada's 1980 Newsmaker of the Year.

The Ottawa Citizen described the national response to his marathon as "one of the most powerful outpourings of emotion and generosity in Canada's history". Fox remains a prominent figure in Canadian legend. His determination united the nation; people from all walks of life lent their support to his run and his memory inspires pride in all regions of the country. A 1999 national survey named him as Canada's greatest hero, and he finished second to Tommy Douglas in the 2004 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program The Greatest Canadian. Fox's heroic status has been attributed to his image as an ordinary person attempting a remarkable and inspirational achievement. Others have argued that Fox's greatness develops from his audacious vision, his determined pursuit of his goal, his ability to overcome challenges such as his lack of experience and the very loneliness of his venture. Typically amongst Canadian icons, Terry Fox is an original hero, admired but not without flaws. These advances in treatment might be partly attributable to the $650 million raised since Terry Fox started his Marathon of Hope. Not wanting to be pitied, Terry Fox told a Toronto radio station that he found life more "rewarding and challenging" since he had lost his leg. Fox's actions increased the visibility of people with disabilities, and in addition influenced the attitudes of those with disabilities, by showing them disability portrayed in a

positive light.

Terry Fox truly brought together many Canadians when times were tough in Canada.

Some problems that Canada went through at that time were for example; the problems with domestic Canadian issues with English versus French identities. In 1980, the Parti Québécois launched a referendum on the question of self-government. Trudeau, although it was not a federal referendum, supported the "no" side, promising constitutional reform. This caused a lot of tension and conflict with the federal government and strained English-French relations. The "no" side won by a margin of 60% to 40% when the question was put to the voters on May 20. However, it demonstrated a divide between the French and English. Another strained relationship in Canada was between Alberta and mainly Eastern Canada. Many of the East thought that Alberta was a selfish, arrogant and rich province because Alberta wanted a lot of control of the oil and its revenue. It divided the Eastern part of Canada because they wanted an equal share of the distribution of both oil and revenue. Terry Fox became a unifying symbol where all Canadians could rally around and support him. He demonstrated that even though there were differences within regions of Canada, the country was able to connect with who he was, the sacrifices he made, the difficulties he had and the goal he wanted to reach to raise money for cancer research. Terry Fox was a young man from Western British Colombia; nonetheless, the rest of Canada embraced him. He

was a symbol of hope and taught Canadians that they could overcome differences and that there is commonality between all Canadians. All of Canada had hope, not just in terms of trying to raise funds to cure cancer, it also showed that there was hope that differences can be put aside and Canada can fight for common goals. To this day, the Terry Fox Foundation announces that over $650 million has been raised to support cancer research in Terry's name.