My Terry Fox Experience(s)

 

Canada has had many historical events that changed many lives over the years and they’ve had figures that inspired many Canadians too. One of those figures was Terry Fox and his Marathon Of Hope.

There once was a man named Terry Fox, born in Winnipeg Manitoba, he was athletic and determined. He had been diagnosed with bone cancer and had to have his leg amputated. After spending time in the hospital with some cancer patients, including children, he was determined to find a way to put an end to this terrible disease, he trained himself for 18 months so he could get ready. On April 12^th 1980, he dipped his foot into the Atlantic Ocean and began his run, which he called, The Marathon Of Hope, in Newfoundland. He ran through Quebec and Ontario, he raised a lot of money, he even spent time with a little boy who also had his leg amputated, for 143 days, he slowly then quickly got a lot of support. Sadly, his marathon would be cut short when he was in Thunder Bay, Ontario, the cancer came back and spread to his lungs, he wasn’t well enough to continue so he had to end the run and go to the hospital. For 9 months Terry had been receiving a lot of treatment and chemotherapy but it wasn’t enough as sadly, Terry died on June 28^th 1981 at the young age of 22.

Everyone in Canada was very sad, but they were also determined to continue his legacy, raise awareness and find a cure for cancer. Every year on the third Sunday of September, Canadians would get together to join the Terry Fox run, they would walk, run or bicycle in a certain distance and be able to raise awareness for cancer and it has impacted so many lives.

For me, the Terry Fox run was part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was in elementary school, we used to do the Terry Fox run at the beginning of the school year. We would have assemblies or be told the story of Terry and how we must continue what he couldn’t finish. I even remember when my first grade teacher read the class a book about Terry. We may not have fully understood what was going on at the time but as we got older, it meant so much more.

This is the exact book my first grade teacher read to us.

Bought this at the thrift store yesterday.

Cancer has also been a strong topic for me and my family.

In 2003, my Grammy had ben diagnosed with cancer and the doctors said it was terminal, but they still did their best to give her treatment to help her while she still had time. After Grammy died, it was a hard time, especially for 4 year old me. We went to the hospital a few times but I got really scared, I didn’t want to go in the room, I could see her on a bed with her eyes closed, even when my aunt tried to play hide and seek with me I still was terrified. I didn’t understand what was wrong but I knew it wasn’t good. I think one of the things about being a little kid is that sometimes you might have an instinct that something is wrong, sometimes you might not fully understand it but you know it isn’t good. Grammy, I know you won’t be reading this, but I want to say I’m so sorry for not seeing you there. Whenever I see Pixar’s Onward, I can relate to Barley’s fourth memory of his dad. It was also a hard time for my mom since she was pregnant with her second baby (don’t worry, she didn’t have a miscarriage!), the last 18 Mother’s Days she’s had were really hard for her, now she’s with my Grammy so she doesn’t have to be sad anymore. Still, she was determined to find ways to end cancer. For the few years after my grammy died, my mom, my aunt and her friends from college had gotten together to do walks to end breast cancer and raised a lot of money. I remember when I was a kid, during those walks they would sometimes come by my school, whenever we went to the playground to play and I didn’t understand what they were doing, but it was nice to see them. Years later, at my mom’s funeral, I saw some pictures from those walks and it brought a few memories. During the speeches one of my mom’s friends talked about the walks and it helped me see what she was doing and how it helped a lot of people battling this horrible disease.

Plus, when I was 11 and in 6^th grade, my mom and I did the Terry Fox Run, we had a nice walk together and it was nice to spend time with her.

That’s why when I did the run in 2022 I did it in honour of both my grammy and my mom, one who lost the battle to it and one who felt strongly about this disease and would do anything to put an end to it.

Fly high, Grammy and Mommy, I love you both.

However, I didn’t feel quite as strongly about cancer until one summer.

When the world shut down due to COVID, it meant I couldn’t see my friends or do fun things. I was able to call my friend on Facebook Messenger. Then in July 2020 when places were slowly opening up and restrictions were clearing, only for a bit, I was able to come and visit my best friend (though sadly we had to wear masks and sit on couches apart), we watched Mean Girls and at one point, she mentioned feeling a bit sick and had a few doctor visits, it didn’t sound too bad, until a few days later, I got a text that changed everything. My friend had told be she was in the hospital, she was diagnosed with leukemia, which is a form of blood cancer and she would be there for the rest of the month and come back home in early August. I just couldn’t believe it, I was shocked and a bit worried she was going to die, a part of me imagined a speech at her possible funeral. I told my parents and they assured me it would be okay, they gave me a little idea about what would happen to her, like how my grammy received treatment. A couple days later my dad told me that her parents called (they actually tried to call me on the day she was admitted but they tried calling on the home phone which we don’t use anymore so it just went to voicemail), they told him she had a likely chance of recovery, because they caught it early, she’s young and it was curable, that gave me a sense of relief and hope.

For the rest of the month she had been texting updates, my dad sent some things from me to give to her parents to bring to her, she called me and her friends on Facebook Messenger to tell us how she was doing and showing us her room. There were times she tried to stay positive and times she got emotional due to the uncertainty, it was quite a time. After she was good to go home, she went through harder times, she had to have a lot of doctor’s visits, she couldn’t see a lot of people, after Canadian Thanksgiving, she had to stay in another cancer hospital while she was there, she had to have a bone marrow transplant, which was a great way to strengthen her chance of survival.

The times I spent with her were interesting, I had to keep my distance from her because of Covid because when one has cancer, they could catch any illness easily due to their compromised health, I also saw during every visit or call that her hair had been falling out due to chemotherapy, by Christmas and through winter, her head was really smooth, plus due to her sickness and treatments, she got a lot more tired, to the point where our visits were reduced to 2 hours. The hardest part was that due to her compromised health and her bone marrow transplant, she couldn’t travel or take public transit, (anyone who lives in or has been in Toronto might know about the TTC subway) so she couldn’t go to university on her own, she had to shorten her classes online and she couldn’t be around kids, which was a bummer because she was studying early childhood education and it also meant she couldn’t be around her little cousins.

However, as hard as it was for her, she was still determined to get better. As time went by she got more treatments and she was getting better, her hair was growing back, she and he parents went to the gathering at my mom’s Celebration Of Life and we got to go to dinner together a week later (we were supposed to do it a month ago, but it was on the day my mom passed and we were worried the cause was contagious, we didn’t want to make her sick). By 2022, she was starting to feel like herself again, I was able to hug her, our visits were longer, we were able to do fun activities like go to the pool, see the Mario Movie or see the Disney Animation Immersive Experience on my birthday. Now she’s feeling a lot better, she’s received all her childhood shots so she can be around kids again and things are less risky. Plus, like I mentioned before, she had received a bone marrow transplant when she was in the hospital, I thank whoever did this, if it weren’t for you, she would’ve been dead. I thank every healthcare worker for helping her get the treatments and care she needed to get back on her feet.

Ever since she had been sick, I felt strongly about cancer more than ever, I revisited the episode of Arthur, The Great MacGrady (check out my previous article for more), I looked at the Peanuts special, “Why Charlie Brown, Why?” where Linus’ friend Janice has leukemia and even got to watch My Sisters Keeper which shows how a family is affected by a teenage girl suffering from leukemia. Plus, I wanted to take part in the Terry Fox run, but I didn’t in 2020 or 2021 because it was digital due to covid, but then when it went back to in person in 2022, I was determined to take part more than ever. I did it in my Grammy and my friend’s name and also to honour mom since she felt strongly about cancer.

I signed up for the run, opened up a fundraiser and a lot of friends and family donated a lot, even my aunt, uncle and one of my mom’s friends all the way from London donated 50 dollars or pounds. I thank everyone that did it, it means a lot.

When I did do the run, it was quite an event, I walked around for a long time and my legs were sore afterwards but it was worth it. It was also great to see a lot of people tell their stories about how cancer has affected them or their families and how they found themselves and ways to overcome it and put a stop to this illness. Some of the stories were a bit sad but very empowering to see how some had survivors or their memories have been kept alive. Ever since then I vowed to do it every year going forward, I did it again last year and it went very well, I’m looking forward to going this year.

It also feels good to be able to take part and make a difference. Like a lot of participants, I would receive letters from Terry’s brothers and sister expressing their gratitude for taking part in the run, his older brother Fred even sent me an ornament with Terry. It really feels nice and can make you feel like you are making a difference.

If any of you readers are Canadian, I encourage you to participate in the Terry Fox run wherever you are, so we can end this vicious disease. The Terry Fox run is always on the third Sunday of September.

For any American readers, please take part in any cancer research events, like a marathon, which could include running, walking or riding a bicycle so you can put an end to it.

In general please do whatever you can.

You could grow your hair longer and cut it to donate to kids or people with cancer, you could start a fundraiser, you could donate money to a stand or cause or just spreading the word can be good enough.

I send my love to anyone who is affected by cancer. Whether you’re suffering from it, having survived, have a family member or friend who’s suffering or died to it, know that you’re not alone and with the right support, you’ll get through this, stay strong and never lose hope and whatever happens you’ll always have love and support.

Now to finish it off, have any of you been affected by cancer? Are you currently undergoing treatment for cancer, do you have a family member or friends currently suffering? If you please feel free to share it in the comments, you can spread the word so we can end this vicious disease and know you’re not alone.