Terry Fox

I chose Terry Fox because he had raw determination and endurance. He was brave fought for what he beleived in. He faced his fears head on. This is why he is my hero Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active person involved in many sports,

Terry Fox was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma or more commonly known as bone cancer and was forced to have his right leg amputated six inches above the knee in 1977. While in hospital, Terry was so 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. He would call this run the Marathon of Hope.

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to gather attention in the beginning it soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to grow to. He ran 42 kilometres a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.

It would be a journey that Canadians will never forget However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres, Terry Fox was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was saddened. Terry Fox passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.

Terry Fox has been honored in a number of ways like a stamp,The Terry Fox Memorial,a movie,a school and the Terry Fox Run which still raises money to fight cancer even if he's deceased he still fights cancer today.