Superman, indeed
October 12, 2004
By Cam Tait
I made myself a mental note over the weekend to call and arrange an
interview with someone who was coming to Calgary on November 10th. I
figured it was going to be an interview to remember. He would be on
a very tight schedule, I was told, so I might have just five or ten
minutes with him. He was very organized, so that would make it an even
bigger challenge.
I thought about that quite a lot late Sunday night when my wife told
me Christopher Reeve had died. I wasn't a fan of Superman, so
I wasn't that taken with his acting. The thing I admired about him was
that he was so determined. It appears I'm not alone. In a CNN poll,
58% of people said they will remember Mr. Reeve for his activism for
people with spinal cord injuries, while 42% will recall his acting career.
It would have been so easy for someone in the movie business to go into
a shell when faced with a life-changing injury. Mr. Reeve could have
- and I sincerely doubt if anyone would have really blamed him - chosen
to keep to himself after the 1995 riding accident that left him a quadriplegic.
After all, where's the glamour and glitz with a wheelchair and ventilator?
But Mr. Reeve refused to let his disability dampen his spirit. He continued
living with a degree of dignity very few people have. He continued to
act, playing a quadriplegic in the suspense movie Rear Window
in 1998. Seeing that told me nothing would keep him away from the craft
he loved.
He made great strides personally, regaining strength throughout his
body. He started the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, a nonprofit
research organization, and raised millions of dollars for research into
spinal cord injuries.
Perhaps the greatest thing Mr. Reeve gave us was hope: he said he was
going to walk again. For someone with a spinal cord injury, that's priceless.
The way he lived his life is a great lesson.
Mr. Reeve was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a dinner in support
of the Canadian Paraplegic Association next month in Calgary. As a reporter,
I wanted to ask him about advances in spinal cord research. As a person
with a disability (I have cerebral palsy), I wanted to thank him for
helping to create a better understanding about disability.
Do you know someone who deserves to be in the Charity Village Spotlight? Send us their name, telephone number and details about their community involvement to cam@charityvillage.com.
