CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - Terry Fox has long been a touching fixture in Julia Bovaird’s life, despite the fact the Canadian hero died many years before Bovaird was born.
Bovaird, 17, first learned about Fox and his remarkable Marathon of Hope at an early age.
“I don’t remember not knowing who he was,’’ she said.
“I always remember in elementary school, even just like running around the fields and everything just to show our support.’’
Her knowledge of – and awe towards – Fox has simply grown over the years.
Today, the co-president of the Terry Fox Committee at Colonel Gray high school tries to put herself in the shoes of a young man who ran, after having his right leg amputated six inches above the knee, almost 5,400 kilometres across six provinces to raise money for cancer research before being forced when cancer spread to his lungs to end on Sept. 1, 1980. It was an effort that captivated a country.
“I can’t imagine what he went through – running that much is such an amazing feat,’’ said Bovaird.
“He was close to my age when he was diagnosed with cancer and when he was running . . . I think that is just so impressive…I can’t imagine doing that myself. He was just so strong.’’
“Well, it’s great to see the kids involved. I get a little six-year-old, seven-year-old kid come up to me with their drawing of Terry and you know that Terry has already had an impact on them.’’
-Fred Fox
On Friday, Bovaird and fellow Colonel Gray students got to know Fox even better, thanks to Fred Fox speaking about the grit and determination of his younger brother, Terry.
Fred, in speaking to students gathered in the school’s cafeteria, stressed how Terry thought of himself as “just an average, ordinary kid”.
Terry did not embark on his Marathon of Hope with a goal of becoming rich, famous or a Canadian hero, notes Fred.
“He shied away from that…personal gain meant nothing to Terry,’’ Fred told the students.
“He wanted to make a difference in other peoples’ lives.
Did you know?
- Roughly $750 million has been raised for cancer research in Terry Fox’s name – a sum that has transformed the lives of people living with cancer today.
Terry was an ordinary kid, explains Fred, willing to put in an extraordinary effort to excel.
He recalls his brother, as a teenager, working his way up from a benchwarmer to captain his high school basketball team by always pushing himself to the limit.
Then, as a young man, he started running with an artificial leg that was made for walking. He kept running and running and running, raising lots of money and resonating with an entire nation along the way.
“Over the years a lot of the presentations and movies have been portraying (Terry) as this hero, but Fred Fox portrays him as a normal person – his brother – and I just think that makes him much more relatable,’’ said Bovaird.
But still, she adds, simply incredible as well.
“He’s such a role model,’’ she said.
Fred visits close to 125 schools each year to share with students very personal, warm and inspiring stories about his brother Terry.
“Every year you’re impacting a new group of kids and a new generation is coming up,’’ he said.
“We see it continuing.’’
More than 9,000 schools in Canada pick up the cause every September by organizing a Terry Fox School Run.
Colonel Gray was one of the first schools to jump on board 37 years ago and has raised about $150,000 to date.
“Well, it’s great to see the kids involved,’’ said Fred.
“I get a little six-year-old, seven-year-old kid come up to me with their drawing of Terry and you know that Terry has already had an impact on them.’’
