His misfortune, family and legacy

Even before Christopher Reeve changed his life forever when he was picked from 200 hopefuls to star in Supermanthe genre-defining 1978 blockbuster that spawned three sequels, he had a knack for beating the odds. In 1973, he was one of twenty 2000 applicants who won a spot to study drama at the elite Juilliard School, where he and his best friend and roommate, the late comedy genius Robin Williams, were the only two students selected in their year . for the school’s advanced program.

Outside of work, the handsome, thrill-seeking sportsman loved to push things to the limit – as a high-risk skier, expert sailor and certified pilot who flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean twice.

Tragically, during a low-stakes equestrian competition on May 27, 1995, Reeve fell from his horse when he failed to complete a three-foot rail jump, sustaining a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down and dependent on a ventilator.

“He said very clearly that it was a very stupid fluke,” Reeve’s daughter, Alexandra, said in an interview with The sun while promoting the recently released feature-length documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. “But it could have been a fluke in the other direction and he could have died on the spot.”

Reeve survived for almost ten years and died on October 10, 2004 at the age of 52, after suffering cardiac arrest while being treated for an infection. Twenty years after his death, his children – Alexandra, 40, and son Matthew, 44, whose mother is British model agent Gae Exton, and son Will, 32, whose mother Dana died of lung cancer 17 months after her husband’s death – say The Their father’s main legacy lies outside his superhero alter ego.

“Heroism is so much more than superficial strength and a glossy image,” said Will, who was just three years old when his father became paralyzed. People magazine. “It’s about integrity, standing up for your family, persevering in difficult circumstances and still having a zest for life. That was our father.”

In the same interview, Alexandra noted that there was even a silver lining to the family’s difficult circumstances. “Our father had a near-death experience, so he knew not to leave things unsaid,” she said. “Because we suddenly stopped doing physical activities, we had a lot more time to sit in his office and have conversations. That was a true gift.”

Reeve said this in 1998, sounding philosophical, just three years after the life-changing event. “Who knows why an accident happens? The key is what you do next,” he said in an interview with Power magazine.

“There is a period of shock and then grieving with confusion and loss. Then you have two choices. One is to stare out the window and gradually fall apart. And the other is to mobilize all your resources, whatever they are, and use them to do something positive. That’s the path I took. For me that is self-evident.”

To cope with his disability, the actor was supported by Dana, who gave up her career as a singer and actress to fully care for Reeve and the children until her death at the age of 44.

“She didn’t do it out of some, you know, heightened sense of nobility. If it had just been pity, it wouldn’t have worked,” Alexandra said in an interview with NPR. “My father was her partner, and he held her the entire time she held him.”

Reeve used his expectations-defying nature to make the most of it, teaching himself to breathe independently for up to 90 minutes without a ventilator. “I would say driven rather than competitive,” Alexandra reflected in an interview with The Guardian. “There was an intense focus on pushing his body beyond what the doctors told him it could do.” Will added that his father’s drive was just refocused.

“Before the accident he could never sit still,” he says. “The accident literally forced him to sit still, but figuratively he still couldn’t. He continued to push himself in every way possible – to grow as a husband, father and contributor to society.

Reeve, who had long been a passionate political activist, became a high-profile advocate for the paralyzed community. Today, all three of the star’s children work with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, advancing innovative research in spinal cord treatments and improving the quality of life for individuals and families affected by paralysis, continuing their father’s work.

“After his accident, he came to realize that a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and persevere despite overwhelming obstacles,” Will told the newspaper. Daily mail.

“That’s the story of Christopher Reeve.”