Some experiences transcend culture or difference, situation or station, geography or time. Heroes are like that. At least - one hero is for the Biddix family. While I imagine we will leave Canada with countless experiences that will continue shaping our lives, I can't imagine one more inspiring and profound than Terry Fox.
I first learned about Terry Fox from Into the Wind, an ESPN 30 for 30 special. The courage, perseverance, and will Terry (and his family and friends) displayed during his run across Canada is an amazing story. Years ago when I saw the film, I had no idea how much of an impact his story would have on our family so many years later.
For anyone reading this who is not familiar with Terry Fox, here is a great resource. The facts tell his inspirational story of being affected by cancer as a young adult and losing a leg, being deeply touched by the suffering around him as he recovered in a children's hospital, and his vow to collect $1 from every Canadian to support Cancer research by running across the country. Among his more inspirational quotations is this one:
I just wish people would realize that anything’s possible if you try; dreams are made possible if you try.
This year marked the 35th anniversary of his run. Across Canada each year, schools participate in the Terry Fox National School Run Day, which is a fundraiser for the Terry Fox Foundation. A few weeks after school started, my daughter rushed home to tell us all about "Terry Fox." Her words came out in a jumble of excitement and reverence, retold with the awe of an inspired six-year-old (credit a fantastic teacher). Thirty-five years after the Marathon of Hope began, our daughter had a new hero.
Both Terry Fox and the School Run became regular conversation topics in our house over the course of the next few weeks leading up to the event. In addition, I visited Ottawa for Fulbright Orientation in Mid-September (post forthcoming) and one of the museums was hosting a temporary Terry Fox exhibit. I was able to pick up a couple of souvenir books for the children and made plans to come back to the museum with them (hint: continue reading).
The School Run was held on October 8. After weeks of making posters, watching videos, and discussing heroism in their school, the kids woke up excited to participate in the run. Their school is located near a large park and the run took place on a route along the sidewalk. The teachers had decorated the walk with quotations from and about Terry Fox, prompting the students to stop and read along the way. My wife and I attended. I walked with my daughter, my wife with my oldest son. Everyone was excited. The school staff did a tremendous job of instilling the importance of commemorating the event with the children.
This chapter of the Terry Fox story did not end with the run. This past weekend, we visited Ottawa. We discovered a Memorial Statue outside of parliament, which gave our youngest his first real exposure other than hearing stories from his brother and sister.
Later, we had the opportunity to visit Running to the Heart of Canada, the Terry Fox exhibit at the Canadian Museum of History. We have been in continual awe at how well museums are done in this country and this exhibit was no exception. There is no real way to describe the power of seeing the story some to life. Credit to the curators; this was fantastically done. Highlights included many artifacts from the journey, journal excerpts, and a database that allowed visitors to read the letters supporters sent to Terry during the run.
I realize there is no way in a few paragraphs I can describe with any sort of meaningfulness what Terry Fox has come to mean for our family. His story helped to demonstrate that heroes do not have to come from your country. They do not have to wear crowns, or be great at a sport, or have lots of things. As parents, we work hard to teach our children these lessons of course, but life has its own way of educating (for better or worse). In this case, we are so very grateful to not only have exposed the children to heroism in a new way, but to have experienced it with them.
Epilogue: The kids decided that the Terry Fox story needs to be told in their school back home, so they are bringing one of the books back as a gift for the school library.
The researcher in me can't resist sharing a few facts from the Museum Exhibit:
- In 1999, a national survey named Terry Fox Canada's greatest hero.
- In a 2010 national Canadian Studies survey, 9 out of 10 respondents said that they remembered Terry Fox. When asked what Terry Fox brought to mind, the answers were: courage, cancer, ran across Canada, hero, determination, and tenacity.
- As of May 2014, the Terry Fox Foundation had raised over $650 million to support cancer research in Terry's name.
After reading this story, if you feel inclined to support the Terry Fox Foundation, please click on this link.
