Terry Fox --remembered...

We wanted to create a blog just about Terry Fox -- a hero in our books.  A giant statue stands just east of Thunder Bay, a tribute to his courage.



Terry started his Marathon of Hope in St John's, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980. He ran a marathon each day (26 miles each and every day) with his one leg and one artificial leg (which he had lost to cancer). He had to stop at Mile 3,339, just outside Thunder Bay in August, when his cancer came back. He ran 143 marathons in 143 days. He rested briefly in Terrace Bay, a little east of Thunder Bay. 

Terrace Bay

We spent the night here remembering the courageous young man that Terry was! We drove along the highway which he had run through in all kinds of weather, and can't imagine how he actually got up each day to do what he had to do -- his will to conquer cancer was ... unbelievable.

This was extremely painful to remember after all these years ... but so important to remember -- this is what Terry, a hero, needed to do to win our hearts and then to break them when he lost his own battle to cancer.

This is a simple poem that Surrinder wrote while in Terrace Bay.


Oh, Terry ...

Terry, a young man with a heart as wide and vast as Canada,
Dreamt of conquering cancer to give hope to those who had none.

A soldier far from home and those he loved,
On a long journey, a Marathon of Hope.


An impossible, lonely mission.

Sea to sea, 

Hop-stepping the roads and highways.

One painful step 

  at 
    a 
     time.


Trying to cross this country that had produced you.

Challenging yourself every single day,
Twenty-six miles a day.
A marathon of hope, each day,
One hundred and forty-three days...
Through the snow, the rain, the heat
Through the hills and valleys,
Your heart full of love and hope...
Wanting to stop the horror and pain of cancer.

Oh, Terry, though you passed this way more than thirty years ago ...
I still see you on this highway, a lonely figure, dusk falling, not finished the allotted miles
to be covered each day.

My heart   b-r-e-a-k-ing 

          piece 
        by 
     piece 

All over again.



Oh, Terry,
You accomplished your goal to bring attention to your cause.
But, somewhere along your journey ...
You stole our hearts ...
And, then broke them.
Your body let you down ...
The lungs that carried you to such heights,
Wings that soared over the Canadian Shield,
Slowly refused to listen to your impossible commands ...
To forget the gruelling pain that you gave them.
Every ... day.

Your body gave up its fight,
And the Marathon of Hope came to an
End.

Along a lonely highway outside Thunder Bay.

The people of Ontario did not forget you ...
They erected a statue of you ...
Heroes such as you don't pass this way every day
And those who do ... pass away too soon.











Oh, Terry ...
You were too beautiful,
Your heart far more pure.
The world lost its rising son.


Canadians saw ...
We heard your brave words.
The battle has been long,
Your fight still goes on, today ...
So many loved ones saved 
So many hearts remember 

Oh, Terry ...
What pride we feel!




Oh, Canada...
Terry stood tall for thee!