Terry Fox Reaches Mile Zero
For those who may not know the story of Terry Fox, he was a young man who lost his right leg to cancer, and decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He started in Newfoundland, and ran through the eastern provinces raising money to help those who were in similar conditions. Unfortunately, he never completed his run. Partway through Ontario, he started having chest pains, and was taken to a hospital. There it was determined that although the leg was ampuated, the cancer had spread to his lungs. He died, having only completed just under half of his legendary run.
That’s the story in brief…For more information, here’s a link to the full story on CBC’s website. There’s also a good summary in the Wikipedia.
Mile Zero, here in Victoria, British Columbia, was where Terry had been planning on finishing his run. It is a small area of grass on Dallas Road, at the edge of Beacon Hill Park, overlooking the water. This recent Saturday, a bronze statue created by a local artist, and approved by Terry’s parents, was unveiled at Mile Zero, 25 years after the attempt, to celebrate the money raised for cancer research since then and in Terry’s Memory.
I recently walked by Mile Zero and thought I would share some photos I took. I hope that Terry’s memory, and his goal, will persist for years to come.
Not shown in the pictures are two of Terry’s famous quotes, on either side of the base (the back of the base is blank, for some reason).
I believe in miracles. I have to.
Dreams are made possible if you try.
