Terry Fox

Terry Fox Momument was recently chosen as one of 7 Thunder Bay wonders, but Terry Fox is also a Canadian hero. A true inspiration for all, from every walk of life too. Despite losing his leg to cancer (osteogenic sarcoma), he perserved and sought out a challenge to raise money to beat this deadly disease of cancer. He started his Marathon of Hope by starting from St. John's Newfoundland by dipping his artificial foot in the Atlantic Ocean with his goal of dipping that foot then in the Pacific Ocean. His Marathon of Hope not only brought attention to cancer research, but it also provided unity across all the provinces and territories as we cheered him on. Unfortunately, just outside of Thunder Bay he was forced to stopped and we later found that his cancer had come back into his lungs. Terry Fox lost his battle to cancer on June 28, 1981, but his inspiration of running across Canada continues to this day every September when cities/towns around the world participate in the Terry Fox Run which raises money for cancer research. For my family, Terry Fox impacted us as on July 1, 1987, my sister Kathryn was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma in her upper humerus bone. She later lost her left arm to the disease. Just like Terry, Kathryn saw passed her disability and accomplished many things such as represented Canada in 1992 for the Summer ParOlympic Games in Barcelona Spain in Swimming - backstroke was her speciality. Isn't it amazing how a regular person like you and I can have such an impact on one's life, be it a family member, friend or a total stranger? The Terry Fox Momument is located just east of Thunder Bay off of the TransCanada Hwy.