Terry Fox

Terry Fox when he was running (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Fox)

Terry Fox was born July twenty-eighth 1958. Terry Fox was a people person. Terry Fox liked basketball. Terry Fox's hero was Dick Traum. Dick Traum ran in the New York City Marathon with one leg. Terry went to Simon Fraser University. Darryl Sittler and Bobby Orr were his favourite hockey players. Daryll Sittler gave Terry a Toronto Maple Leaf jersey in the Toronto City Hall.

Terry running. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Fox)

Terry had an older brother Fred and a younger brother Darryl and a sister Judith. In 1966 his family moved to British Columbia, settling in the suburban town of Port Coquitlam. The Foxes were a noisey, fun-loving family.

Terry got older and his leg started hurting he forgot about it and went along and played basketball. One day when he got home his knee had pain in it. They drove to the hospital and the docter said that he had cancer in his knee. A few days later his leg was amputated.

He thought about running across Canada. So he did. First, he ran a few miles with police cars behind him collecting money. Then he stopped and took a deep breath and started running again. His mom and dad were not with him. He stopped and rested. The next day he got up and ran four miles.

The Terry Fox loonie. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Fox)

Twelve miles east of Thunder Bay in the morning Terry ran thirteen miles and ate a little bit then went back to a motel to nap. That afternoon the highway was crowded with supporters and the weather was good. Five miles into the run Terry began coughing and then a bit farther he developed a dull blunt pain in his upper chest. Doug drove Terry to the hospital saying, "It's not my ankle and it isn't my foot." Terry had lung cancer and died in June, 1981.

Terry Fox inspired me because he ran across Canada and raised a lot of money for cancer research.