Christopher Reeve

Most of us know the story. An actor who seems to have everything has their life turned upside-down after an accident and finds himself as helpless as an infant.

Afterwards - instead of retreating into a corner he managed to find his own internal superman and become vice-chair of the National Coalition on Disabilities raising millions of dollars to help victims of spinal cord injury. He worked hard to lift the restrictions on stem cell research that hold the promise of creating effective new therapies for people suffering from various forms of paralysis. He spoke as knowledgeably about the intricacies of somatic cell nuclear transfer as about the complexities of health care reform.

In his personal journey toward recovery, he hurtled past barriers that many doctors thought were unbreakable able to breathe independently for extended periods, without the help of a respirator. He restored voluntary movement to his extremities, something physicians said couldn’t be done. He stood upright and tip-toed along the bottom of a pool of water and continued to believe he would walk again one day.

In the process he became a Unitarian Universalist.

In his book Nothing Is Impossible, Reeve writes, "This is the evening of May 27, 2003, the eighth anniversary of the accident. That I call it ‘the accident,’ as opposed to ‘the tragedy’ or ‘the tragic mistake,’ is perhaps an indication that I still don’t blame myself or my horse or a conspiracy of the Fates for what happened. Given all the inexplicable acts of violence, injustice, and cruelty, mixed with the unexpected small miracles of kindness and happiness that we see in the world every day, I remain convinced that life is chaos, but that it within our power to establish order and meaning." I believe that, too. I don’t think everything happens for a purpose. I know that life isn’t always fair. But I still believe that the world holds out possibilities for creativity and enrichment that are open to every one of us. I believe that gratitude is in order, despite all the difficulties that come our way. I believe we’re all one family and need each other in times of grief and gladness. And I believe in the power of human ingenuity and people of goodwill to make a difference in the world. This is my credo as a Unitarian Universalist. It’s what superman and I have in common."

Christopher Reeve passed away on October 10, 2004.

Visit/Donate at ChristopherReeve.org