In addition to being a legendary actor, Christopher Reeve had a profound influence on people all over the world through his tireless campaigning and philanthropic work.
In this year, the actor most remembered for playing Superman would have turned 70. On the day he would have turned 70, his son Will paid tribute to his late father.
Will posted a photograph of the Superman actor on the scene with the message, ‘70 Happy birthday, Big Cheese!’ He also posted a photo of his father dressed as Superman, presumably on the set of the movie.
When Reeve was thrown from a horse during an obstacle test for an equestrian competition in 1995, his life took a sharp change.
When the accident left him paraplegic from the neck down, he was 42 years old. The incident was so alarming since there were so many possible outcomes from the fall.
He would have killed instantaneously if he had fallen one centimeter to the left. He would have survived with only a concussion if he had fallen to the right. But destiny had other ideas.
Dana, Reeve’s wife, provided him the extra push he needed to keep going when all looked lost. ‘You’re still you, and I love you,’ she added, giving the actor the determination he needed to ‘hold on to life,’ according to The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
‘When Dana whispered those life-saving words to me, ‘You’re still you. And I love you,’ it meant more to me than a personal declaration of faith and commitment;
it was an affirmation that marriage and family stood at the center of everything, and if both were intact, so was your universe,’ he explained.
The actor’s spirit was not dampened by the catastrophe. He was determined to help people in his situation.
In 1999, he founded the charity The Reeve Foundation, which is still dedicated to ‘curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and increasing quality of life for individuals and families touched by paralysis,’ according to its official website.
Will is extremely proud of his parents, who have worked tirelessly to assist those in need. Dana died of lung cancer in 2006, while Reeve died of heart failure in 2004.
Will is convinced that their legacies will continue on, despite the agony of losing both of his parents.
I think his legacy will never die, and I feel a responsibility to carry his and my mother’s legacy on for the rest of my life and hopefully beyond,’Will told PEOPLE.
‘I believe that the foundation is one practical way that his and my mother’s legacies will continue on.’
And I believe that the way my siblings and I live our life is another way. And I feel that his impact is felt by the millions of lives that he touched.’
The 30-year-old news presenter also believes that his father ‘had an impact on the globe well beyond his transitory celebrity for appearing in movies’
