In 1978, DC comic book hero superman hit our screens and the show earned Christopher Reeve a BAFTA award for Most Promising Male Newcomer.
It didn’t end there as he went on to appear in three more of the superhero movies: Superman II, Superman III, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
We were expecting to see more of him but not until the film director, producer, screenwriter, equestrian and activist was thrown from a high horse and was later confined to a wheelchair. All these happened in 1995 and he was soon said to be quadriplegic.
At the age of 42, he couldn’t use his limbs and had to use a ventilator for the rest of his life.
Some after going through a life changing situation like this will probably give up, but Christopher Reeve didn’t. He focused on activism and went on to set up a foundation called Christopher Reeve Foundation with the help of his wife Dana. The foundation was later named Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
Reeve foundation posted on Instagram saying, “Some of the choices in life will choose you. How you face those choices, these turns in the road, with what kind of attitude, more than the choices themselves, will define the context of your life.”
“Dana Reeve had two choices when Christopher was injured, she could grieve her former life, or fight to make their lives and the millions of others living with paralysis joyous and prosperous. She chose the latter. Dana became a powerful voice for caregivers and a fierce advocate for equality, and we are honoured to carry her legacy onwards.”
Death came knocking on his doors at the age of 52 in 2004 and it wasn’t long before his devoted wife and caregiver joined him also after suffering a malignant lung tumor, despite never smoking. They died 17 months apart.
Christopher Reeve had three children, one son with Dana and two others with Gae Exton, Alexander and Mathew.
Dana left Wills when he was just 13 years old and looking at the young man today he has a spitting resemblance with his father.
Wills Reeve said in a daily mail article, “There’s something my father used to say and which I use frequently today to not only honor his legacy, but to imbue a new generation with his timeless spirit: ‘A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
Before his parents death they founded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, lobbying on behalf of spinal cord injury victims and for stem cell research.
Wills never left his parent’s legacy for once and is helping to lead fundraising for more breakthroughs in the research for spinal injury patients.
His parents will be so proud of him.
