DA Diary
Christopher Reeve
In a wheelchair paralysed from waist down following a horse rididng accident
His mother recalls, "He was endowed with a great many extraordinary talents. He had a wonderful mind, wide-ranging interests, a willingness to take risks. He was an athlete and scholar with a passion for acting, which began very, very early."
During production of My Life, Reeve auditioned and successfully screen tested for the 1978 movie Superman. He made Superman believable by playing him as a hero with brains and a heart.
In addition to his acting career, Reeve was extremely active in political causes and sports. In May of 1995, it was during the cross-country portion of a horse riding event in Virginia, that Reeve's Throughbred, Eastern Express, balked at a rail jump, pitching his rider forward. Reeve's hands were tangled in the horse's bridle and he landed head first, fracturing the uppermost vertebrae in his spine. Reeve was instantly paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe. Prompt medical attention saved his life.
Ironically, this most self-reliant and active of men was now facing life almost completely immobilized and dependent on others for his most basic needs.
Reeve's activism after becoming spinal cord injured originally involved bringing more scientists into neurological research to more quickly discover a cure along with doubling the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He created the Christopher Reeve Foundation in 1996 to raise research money and provide grants to local agencies which focus on quality of life for the disabled.
Because Reeve found the strength to use his tragedy to help others after facing this devastating life blow, there were many who came to believe that Reeve really was Superman.
The man who was Superman has written a never-to-be-forgotten story of his life, at once moving, funny and enthralling, Still Me.
His mother recalls, "He was endowed with a great many extraordinary talents. He had a wonderful mind, wide-ranging interests, a willingness to take risks. He was an athlete and scholar with a passion for acting, which began very, very early."
During production of My Life, Reeve auditioned and successfully screen tested for the 1978 movie Superman. He made Superman believable by playing him as a hero with brains and a heart.
In addition to his acting career, Reeve was extremely active in political causes and sports. In May of 1995, it was during the cross-country portion of a horse riding event in Virginia, that Reeve's Throughbred, Eastern Express, balked at a rail jump, pitching his rider forward. Reeve's hands were tangled in the horse's bridle and he landed head first, fracturing the uppermost vertebrae in his spine. Reeve was instantly paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe. Prompt medical attention saved his life.
Ironically, this most self-reliant and active of men was now facing life almost completely immobilized and dependent on others for his most basic needs.
Reeve's activism after becoming spinal cord injured originally involved bringing more scientists into neurological research to more quickly discover a cure along with doubling the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He created the Christopher Reeve Foundation in 1996 to raise research money and provide grants to local agencies which focus on quality of life for the disabled.
Because Reeve found the strength to use his tragedy to help others after facing this devastating life blow, there were many who came to believe that Reeve really was Superman.
The man who was Superman has written a never-to-be-forgotten story of his life, at once moving, funny and enthralling, Still Me.