Nancy Morris introduced our guest speaker for the evening. Nancy and Dave were in Neepawa to watch their grandsons play hockey and were staying in a local hotel. There was terrible weather outside, downpour of rain. Brenda Krueger was also in the area and had planned on staying in a tent…the weather changed those plans. They met and talked about why each was in Neepawa that weekend. Nancy was intrigued by Brenda’s story and invited her to speak at a Rotary meeting.
Brenda first lived in Winnipeg when her father was minister at Chalmers United Church, and she attended Isaac Brock School. She then moved away but returned as an adult and currently lives in Southdale.
Brenda was a schoolteacher before having her family and then became the first ever School Program Coordinator at the University of Manitoba and retired 10 years ago. Her husband, Don, is a retired Winnipeg firefighter and together they enjoy many adventures travelling to hike, camp, and cycle.
Brenda is a volunteer with the Terry Fox Foundation and goes to speak in communities and schools throughout Saskatchewan and Manitoba. She travels throughout each province often speaking in 5 schools a day. Terry has inspired her to meet the challenges of having polio as a child and cancer as an adult.
She believes everyone can learn many important lessons from Terry.
Brenda started her day with a 24-mile run and has been looking forward to the meeting tonight to talk about her involvement with the Terry Fox Foundation. She advised that when you see an individual wearing a red Terry Fox shirt that means that they are a ‘Terry Team Member’ and have had cancer. She also had polio as a child that has meant many surgeries and a final result of a right foot that is 3 sizes smaller than her left foot. Due to her love of running, she requires new runners every 3 months. This size difference in her feet makes the regular purchases interesting. The polio also caused issues with her back. She had to wear a body cast as a teen to help correct this. She just did what she had to do! She now has 2 children and 12 grandchildren. Four grandchildren live in Winnipeg and have gone to Wayoata School in Transcona. That is the same school as Terry Fox when he was a child living in Winnipeg. He was just an ordinary boy living an ordinary life. In 1980 she watched Terry Fox run.
Brenda was working at the University of Manitoba in 2006 when she got a phone call from her doctor. She was advised over the phone that “you have cancer”. She was of course scared at that moment. She had cancer in her left leg. Eleven days later she had an operation that removed the entire cancerous lesion but also left a large defect in her leg. She was also told that she had a ten-year survival rate estimated at 63%.
She thought about Terry Fox running after an amputation of his leg. She just had surgery on her leg. She wondered, ‘what can I do?’. When she rides a bike her leg will swell up. She did manage to ride from Niagara Falls to Winnipeg. She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. A recent achievement has been climbing Mount Terry Fox in B.C.. Terry Fox has more streets, buildings and places named after him in Canada, than anyone else.
Brenda runs marathons. She has run in Boston and New York plus numerous others. Usually at about mile 18 her leg will swell. Now, remember that Terry Fox ran a marathon a day during his Marathon of Hope Run. He had a ‘yes I can do it’ mentality. It is all about meeting a goal. Brenda’s husband had one goal and that was to cycle across Canada. It took 48 days starting in Vancouver and finishing in St. John’s. When he arrived in St. John’s he dipped the tire of his bike in the Atlantic Ocean, just like Terry Fox did with his artificial leg to start his journey and also stood beside the Terry Fox statue.
Brenda has a Run with Terry jug. On the first day of Terry’s run he filled a glass jug with water from the Atlantic Ocean. His family kept the jug after the run ended at Thunder Bay. Brenda found a jug just like Terry’s and she has an annual run that starts on April 12th and goes to Sept. 1st. Every day she runs and puts a dollar in the jug. This is 143 days, so $143.00 This is donated to the Terry Fox Foundation by her every year. This gives Brenda a great satisfaction to honour Terry this way.
Terry’s real goal was to raise awareness and money for cancer research. When he was running each day, he would turn off the route and go down small side roads into communities. This would raise more money and awareness. By the time he had to stop his run, he had traveled 5,373kms. This would have taken him well into Saskatchewan if he stayed on the main Trans Canada Highway. So far there has been $760 million raised in his name for cancer research.
Brenda talked to 14,000 students last year in schools varying in size from 48 to 800 students. Terry was all about working hard and not giving up. He was thinking about other people, trying to help other people.
Terry had a 10-mile route that he ran every day for 14 months before he started the actual Marathon of Hope run. He practiced for a total of 3,107 miles. Things are going to be hard, do the best you can. Brenda tells the students to follow what Terry Fox believed. Help others, work hard, don’t give up and do the best that you can.
Celebrate this country, celebrate family and friends, celebrate Rotary fellowship. We are each on our own journey, be inspired to be the best you can be. The one important person in your life is the person you see in the mirror. If you need encouragement, think about Terry Fox!
Terry Fox had an original style artificial leg that did not have an articulated ankle. This led to the classic hop that he ran with. The leg did not fit well and caused chafing and ulcerations. Now there is the ‘blade’ style of foot for running after an amputation. The entire artificial leg is custom fit for the individual. The comparison of the two legs is an example of what fundraising can do to support cancer survivors.
Q/A
1.- Chuck Crocker asked where the ‘blade’ was developed?
A.- not exactly sure, but a South African runner was the first to use it in competition.
2.-Nancy Morris- what kind of response do you get from the students?
A.- Always positive from students and teachers. The teachers are provided lesson plans, bookmarkers and Terry Fox Marathon Facts from the Foundation.
3.- Glenn Campbell – how many countries does the run happen in?
A.-Millions of participants in over 40 to 60 countries including places like Cuba and Dubai. The Terry Fox Foundation is in the Top 10 list of highest dollar amount of fundraising going towards programs.
4.- Janet Spence – When did Terry Fox start running?
A.- In grade 8, Terry Fox wanted to get on the basketball team. He had great determination and made the team. He played for 1 minute in one game that season. He made the team in high school and University where he wanted to get a PhysEd degree. He played Men’s Wheelchair Basketball for Team Canada. On the night before his operation to remove his cancer / leg, his coach gave him a magazine showing an amputee athlete running.
Glenn Campbell thanked Brenda for her presentation on behalf of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg - Charleswood. She was advised that a donation in her name would be made to ShelterBox.
