Google Pays Homage to Terry Fox by Replacing their Homepage Logo with an Illustration Showing Him
Today Google is showing respect to Terry Fox by changing their homepage logo with an illustration showing him with an amputated leg. This beautiful illustration also gives the message of hope and determination to cancer patients who fight against the deadly disease.
Terry fox was a Canadian athlete and cancer research activist. His life was a message for everyone that physical disability should not be considered as a barrier to success.
Terry Fox was born on 28th July 1958, he was a passionate athlete and loved playing soccer, rugby, and baseball. His short height never came between him and his love for basketball. In school, his coach noticed that Fox was more suited for distance running and encouraged him to take part in this sport. He took part in cross-country running just to please his coach but continued practicing soccer and won high school’s athlete of the year award. On 12th November 1976, he met a car accident but only got a sore knee. In December he felt pain again but chose to ignore till the end of basketball season. In March 1977, the pain intensified and he went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of cancer that normally starts near the knees. His leg got amputated and he received chemotherapy too. One leg could not stop him and his passion for sports. He started walking after only three weeks of his amputation. His positive attitude and enthusiasm led to his recovery. During sixteen months of his chemotherapy in the British Columbia Cancer Control Agency facility, Fox saw the suffering and death of his fellow cancer patients. It was then that he realized that he should live his life in a way that would help people to find courage and hope.
Fox decided to raise funds for cancer patients and research through running after reading an article of the first amputee, Dick Traum, who completed the New York Marathon.
“I soon realized that that would only be half my quest, for as I went through the 16 months of the physically and emotionally draining ordeal of chemotherapy, I was rudely awakened by the feelings that surrounded and coursed through the cancer clinic. There were faces with the brave smiles, and the ones who had given up smiling. There were feelings of hopeful denial, and the feelings of despair. My quest would not be a selfish one. I could not leave knowing these faces and feelings would still exist, even though I would be set free from mine. Somewhere the hurting must stop….and I was determined to take myself to the limit for this cause”. Terry Fox 1979
On 12th April 1980, he began a “Marathon of Hope” where he was determined to run the entire length of Canada from east to west to raise funds for cancer patients and awareness for cancer research but his quest was cut short after 143 days and covering 5,373 kilometers as cancer spread to his lungs and ultimately cost him his life. Though he was not able to complete the marathon, he managed to raise $1.7 million that continued to increase and reached $23 million. He died on 28th June 1981 and left the worldwide legacy of fundraising by marathon events around the world on the second Sunday after Labor Day. Today Google remembered the contribution of this great man by replacing their homepage logo with his illustration.
