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If a child is a product of their parents, then Betty Fox must be a pretty amazing woman.
Thirty years ago, her son, Terry, captivated the nation with his 'Marathon of Hope', running across Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer research.
It was a public campaign, but a personal mission. Terry was diagnosed with bone cancer and had his right leg amputated at eighteen. Three years later, on April 12, 1980, he set off on his cross-country journey from Newfoundland. He made it one hundred and forty-three days, and five thousand two hundred and eighty kilometres before he had to stop in Thunder Bay. The cancer had spread to his lungs
Terry died nine months later, but left an indelible mark. He raised more than twenty-three million dollars for cancer research, and the annual Terry Fox Run has now raised more than four hundred million dollars around the world.
Terry will always be a national hero, which is why many campaigned to have Betty light the Olympic cauldron at the Vancouver Games. That honour went to Wayne Gretzky. But Betty was one of eight chosen to carry the Canadian flag at the opening ceremonies.
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