30 Years Later, Terry Fox Still Inspires

(Aired on April 12, 2010)

30 years ago today, very few of us would have expected the impact to be created by Terry Fox when he dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean to begin his Marathon of Hope. Terry's journey physically barely made it half way across the country, but the journey continued far beyond his and anyone else's wildest dreams.

Unfortunately, it was not so much the journey he made, but the journey he didn't make that led to the inspiration that has created so much hope and so many dreams that a cure will be found. When Terry Fox's physical journey ended barely half way across the country, in Thunder Bay, those who had followed his dream took up the cause and transcended anything Terry may have hoped to accomplish himself.

The effort he put into those daily walks, the pictures we will never forget of him walking along the highway, the tears when he had to call off the fight, and more tears when he lost that final battle, inspired many to fight on to ensure that dream has not been lost. Terry's older brother Fred, says when Terry started out he was hoping to raise $1-million. $500-million later, the figure is still climbing. Fred says Terry would never have believed 30 years later, his dream was still being lived by the countless thousands who participate in the Terry Fox run every year.

The inspiration that Terry provided touched something in all of us and reached us like very few things can. There are many out there who are living courageous fights every day. People we will never find out about because they haven't found the recognition Terry did. But they are out there, and doing what Terry did - living their dreams - dreams of hope, dreams of surviving to fight another day, days made possible in part because of Terry's legacy.

Cancer is still a formidable foe, but we are making progress in many areas. And if we continue to dream, as Terry did, that cure could be found with the help of all of us. It's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility. And wouldn't that be a fitting conclusion to a dream that started thirty years ago today with a piece of wood and metal being dipped in the vast Atlantic by a young man from Coquitlam.