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Fox embodied Canadian characteristics
Theresa Seraphim g
Spotlight
What does it mean to be Canadian?
What characteristics come to mind when you hear that word? And finally, who would you say embodies those traits?
I’m guessing most people, when asked what a Canadian is, would say something like, “a person who has a sense of peace, since we’re known for our peacekeeping; a person who is fair-minded; someone who has compassion for others, who is not afraid to feel, and has guts and determination; a person who strives not only to be his or her best but also endeavours to make a situation better for his or her fellow citizens.”
As mid-September approaches, I become aware of one person who did embody these traits.
He ran across Canada to raise money for the endeavour of finding a cure for cancer.
That in itself was laudable, but what made the run even more noteworthy was that he did it with one prosthetic leg, having lost the “real” one to cancer.
He made it from Newfoundland Labrador to Thunder Bay before having to quit the journey because the cancer had spread.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present a quintessential Canadian: Terrance Stanley Fox.
That Terry Fox had courage, and compassion, is not in question. Nothing else could have prompted him to do that run, so that we might all become more aware of the terrible toll exacted by cancer, not only on those diagnosed with the disease but also on their families and friends.
When it comes to knowing about any subject, nobody can speak to it as well as someone who has experienced it, and Terry Fox was an expert when it came to cancer.
His words and actions carried a weight that someone who hadn’t experienced the disease wouldn’t quite have had.
However, they also carried a weight because of who Terry Fox was.
Cancer had shaped him into someone who, rather than turning bitter, decided to do what he could to help ensure nobody else would have to suffer as he suffered.
Certainly, anyone of any country could do that, but it seems that Canadians in general have a tendency to reach out to their fellow humans, to want to make things better.
We are willing to expend ourselves in efforts to help others have improved lives, and we are good at inspiring others to do the same.
That’s why even now, almost 30 years after Terry Fox ended his run and then died several months later, we continue his efforts each September by gathering for a run in his name. We, too, want to see an end to suffering for those with cancer.
Terry Fox inspired us to be all that we can be.
And since that’s what it means to be Canadian.
I am darned proud to be one.
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