The Terry Fox Story

The Terry Fox Story

One Tough Kid Terry Fox was born in 1958 in Winnipeg, Canada. As a young boy, he loved to play sports and games that went on for days. Terry was stubborn about finishing any project, no matter how long it took. Though he wasn't big or strong, Terry loved sports. He played baseball and soccer with his little brother, Darrell, and his best friend, Doug Alward. Terry earned a spot on his eighth-grade basketball team, but it wasn't easy. He was barely 1. 5 meters (5 ft. ) tall and not a very good player when he began. Still, through lots of hard work, Terry made the team.

High School and Beyond Terry kept getting better at basketball while playing for his high school. In his senior year, he even shared an Athlete of the Year award with his buddy Doug. Terry also got good grades in school. He wasn't sure what he wanted to be in the future, but he knew he wanted to keep playing basketball. He went to college at Simon Fraser University, which had the best basketball team in British Columbia. Making the team would be another challenge, but that was just fine with Terry.

Things Crash Terry earned a spot on the team, but then things started to go wrong. In November of his first year at college, he crashed his car. Terry wasn't hurt badly in the crash, but his knee felt sore. He didn't tell anyone about the pain. He thought his knee was hurting from basketball practice. By late winter, however, he was limping. His mother took him to the doctor. The news was terrible. The source of Terry's leg pain was a rare form of cancer. The cause was unknown, but Terry had a type of cancer that could spread quickly and be deadly.

Terry was angry and fearful when he first heard the news. He went through many different feelings as his life quickly changed. He moved into the hospital, and his right leg was removed above the knee. Doctors hoped this would keep the cancer from spreading. No one could say for sure, however, that the cancer wouldn't return. Terry faced new challenges. He had to learn how to walk using a prosthetic leg. Months of cancer treatments followed. The treatments weakened his body and caused his hair to fall out. While working through these changes, Terry learned to let go of his anger. He met so many other cancer patients in the hospital that he realized he wasn't alone in his struggle.

A New and Different Life Terry began his new life. He discovered he could still enjoy sports, though often in new ways. He played wheelchair basketball. To strengthen his arms, he pushed his wheelchair up two mountains in British Columbia. Next, Terry tried running, which was awkward at first with a prosthetic leg. Soon, however, he got the hang of it and began regular training. At his first race, Terry came in last. Still, he felt happy. He had learned that cancer couldn't stop him from doing what he loved.