Steve Fonio, cancer racer with a complex heritage across Canada, dies at 56

Steve Fonio, a 56-year-old survivor of BC cancer who ran across Canada with a prosthetic leg, has died, friends and family have confirmed.

Phonio’s partner Lisa Herbert told Global News that when she died just after midnight on Friday, she was in the Vancouver area to have her prosthetic foot repaired.

He said he returned to his hotel room in Burnaby to see if Fonio had a seizure. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for more than an hour, but he died at their hands, he said.

“He had a great heart and loved people. That’s why he did what he did,” Herbert said Sunday.

“His personality is so great, he filled every room. People who knew him, loved him so much, some did not like him, but you know you can not please everyone. He admitted that there were some problems in his life, but overall he was a guy who loved people.

The family did not know the cause of his death until at least Tuesday, when the autopsy was available, he said.

Fonio’s ex-wife, Lisa Greenwood-Fonio, told Global News that she had been on epilepsy following a brutal attack in 2015 that kept her in a coma for weeks and lived with the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury.

“I think he finally had a seizure,” he said.

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Fonio lost his leg at the age of 12 due to cancer. In 1984 and 1985, at the age of 18, he followed in the footsteps of Terry Fox and began a successful career across Canada.

The Journey for Lives initiative has raised over $ 13 million for cancer research, and Fonio was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 1985.

In subsequent years, he fought depression and drug abuse, and was convicted of a series of criminal offenses ranging from drunk driving to assault. In 2009, he was stripped of his Order of Canada.

In 2015, it was the title of a documentary InjuryHe describes the efforts he made to reconnect his life.

“I want to improve myself. I do it,” he told the Canadian Press after the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“I do not think they should have taken away my Order of Canada,” he said. I think they should have been more supportive, but it was a two-way street. I did nothing for myself. “

It is no secret that Greenwood-Phono had a troubled past with his ex-spouse, but his outlook on life changed after he recovered.

He has been living on the Powell River in recent years, where he said he is happy.

“He loved being there and he was having a good time,” he said.

“It simply came to our notice then. A lot of people thought he was a complete idiot. But once you get over it all, he’s a good guy. He’s incredibly smart. “

The family reunites in Vancouver, and say they plan to bring Fonio to Vernon, where he will be buried with his father.