Yesterday morning, I went down to Sentosa for a jog with Jasper....... Crazy! I should be sleeping in on a Sunday morning, especially when it was raining and the cool temperate sure made the bed looks tempting. Oh my gosh! What was I even thinking about???
Even though it was just an ordinary run, but it was for an extraordinary purpose... to raise funds for the Singapore Cancer Society. It was called "Run For Hope", but more famously known as the Terry Fox Run, inspired by the man himself. I have always heard about this run and snipnets of the inspiring story behind it. But never really got down to the act of registering for it. Coincidentally this year, my Dad sudden saw the publicity of this even on TV and asked me to invite some of my church youths to run together as part of charity, and that he would even sponsor us for this run! Thanks Dad!
(Click here to read more about Terry Fox....)
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Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.
After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.
It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.
However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.
The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.
To date, more than $400 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.
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But frankly speaking, whether it was my Dad who sponsored the money, or Jasper and me who participated in the run... the motivation behind it was never for our own good, but rather to bless those who are less fortunate and bringing hope to them as they battle it out with cancer. I can't save the world world, but I am just willing to do my part and whatever I can. Take a moment to pause and think.. Have we learnt to spare a thought for the people around us? Or have we been caught up with the fast and furious pace of life and forgotten about caring for others?
A historymaker doesn't always just lead and cheong.. He's got to learn to serve and bless first...
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