Remembering Christopher Reeve: My Tribute to a Real-Life Super/Man

Introduction

Welcome to a special bonus episode of Wholesome TV Picks. Today, I'll be diving into the life of a true hero, someone who wore the iconic cape on screen and embodied it off screen in ways you might not expect. Christopher Reeve, the man who brought Superman to life, didn't just fight for truth, justice on the big screen. He fought for his own life after a life-changing accident in 1995 that left him a quadriplegic. His resilience, bravery, and advocacy for those living with paralysis make him a hero in every sense of the word. Stick around as we explore his incredible journey, unbreakable spirit, and how he became a real life symbol of hope.

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining me today on this special bonus episode. My first bonus episode on a topic I can talk and talk and talk about.

The Life-Changing Accident

So I wanted to talk more about Christopher Reeve. And for those of you that are unfamiliar with him, I couldn't not talk about him, but I didn't want to bog down the actual Superman episode with this more in depth. So for those of you who are unfamiliar with his story, on May 27th of 1995, Christopher Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down, a quadriplegic, during a horse jumping competition.

He landed straight on his head like a hammer to a nail with all his weight. You know, he's like a six-foot something man, like 200 and some-odd pounds smacked onto his head. His hands unfortunately got tangled in the bridle and prevented him from using his hands to brace himself to break his fall.

His neck was broken between the C1 and C2 vertebrae, and he literally almost died there in Culpeper, Virginia.

A Personal Memory

This was a very historical moment for me because as a big, huge Superman fan and a Christopher Reeve fan, I was just heartbroken when I heard of this. And just like how many people know where they were when 9-11 happened or for the older generation when JFK was shot and so on, I remember exactly where I was on May 27th of 1995 when I heard the Bible study at a church friend's home with other people, when we were enjoying our cake and refreshments afterwards and watching the news.

And I remember when it came on and I was so heartbroken and cried. I was just praying and praying to God that Chris would not die. The media coverage was crazy.

Public Response

Every news station was breaking news with Christopher Reeve, with Superman being paralyzed. It was all over the newspapers. And I remember I just wanted to be there for him like so many other of his fans just wanted to be there with him and encourage him and pray for his family as well.

Eventually they did because the media was actually in front of the hospital where he was. Many fans like myself sent flowers to that hospital. That hospital was lined with flowers and mementos of encouragement, of prayer.

I just remember seeing all the flowers everywhere and just hoping and praying my flowers were somewhere there that I had sent. Nobody wanted to see Superman paralyzed. It was just a thought you couldn't imagine.

It's like he was he's Superman. He can't be paralyzed. And it just in retrospect shows you just how just how cruel life can be, how fragile life is, and how life can change in an instant.

The Active Man Behind Superman

He was an avid horseback rider. It's not like it was his first ride. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was an uh he'd been horse riding for a long time. He also was a scuba diver. He sailed boats.

He had sailed around across the Atlantic. He was a pilot. He flew his own planes. There was he played sports with his children and and he was a pianist too. He loved to play the piano. These are all things that I don't think many people know that Christopher Reeve did.

He was a very active person and now he was bedridden possibly for the rest of his life which we did end up learning eventually that he was going to be permanently paralyzed.

Rehabilitation and Family Support

So eventually he was transferred to a physical rehab place in New Jersey at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation is what I believe it was called. And that's where he stayed for a while going through physical therapy with his family.

And I just remember his wife Dana beautiful beautiful woman really being tested with the the wedding vows in sickness and in health. Their world was just turned upside down.

My Poem for Christopher Reeve

Sometime during this early season of his life or the early season of his new life being paralyzed I remember listening on the radio station. They were having like a poetry night original poetry night and they were asking listeners if they had any original poetry to call into the station and read your poem on the air. So I had actually written a poem in school in high school. I was a freshman.

I actually wrote a poem about Christopher Reeve and I read it now and it sounds kind of it sounds a little off. It just I don't want to say corny because I was only 14 but I guess some people might think it sounds corny but it's just you can totally see I was really focused on rhyming. But anyways I read it on the air and I remember the DJ said that she wanted me to send it to her because they were going to try to get in touch with Christopher Reeve's team and somehow get my poem to Christopher Reeve.

The DJ was just so was awed by my creativity and my love for Christopher Reeve at the time. So I'm going to share my little poem that I wrote. I titled it A Superman.

A Superman - My Poem

Remember I did say it was going to sound maybe a little cheesy. You can tell that I was trying to rhyme so just take that into consideration. Christopher Reeve though an actor he had tried his very best and that's a factor. His love for drama made him a star. He has the strength of the drama as his career went very far. He made lots of movies nine to be exact during a 10-year period and that's a fact.

When he got married he had a son although he has two other children he knew life could still be fun. On Memorial Day of this past year he had a tragic accident that left his family in a fear that he may never walk again. The tabloids of all the other supermans though doubtful at first how they've all been hurt by what is called the superman curse.

When his outlook had looked very slim he had thought of suicide one day. We couldn't believe it at first that he would want to end his life that way. The love and support from his family and friends he knew he couldn't fail because he realized the importance of all his mail.

He got better and better as time went on. He knew that very soon his paralyzation soon would be gone. His family and friends because we cared so much we kept him in our prayers because we love him a whole bunch.

His spirit never dies he had hit a strife as he lives on every day realizing he is fighting for his life. He has so much faith as God continues to heal him I know he will walk again for his life will not dim.

My Superman Memorabilia

Yep I can uh I haven't read this in in decades so it's pretty interesting and makes me laugh a little bit how I wrote this a long time ago but as you can tell I really I was really a big fan of his and this was my way of showing my my faith in his healing and I don't know I just I felt inspired to write this poem I don't know how else to explain it and I bought all the people magazines all the time all the magazines that had anything Christopher Reeve on it I bought it so I have a ton of memorabilia like I had said in the Superman episode I have so much Superman memorabilia it's crazy but it's mainly all Christopher Reeve stuff Christopher Reeve posters or not posters Christopher Reeve um headshots and like I said the people magazines of him I had stacks of VHS tapes with all the recordings of every single appearance he ever made on the news interviews updates on his health appearances his first appearance at the Oscars like six months later seven months later and 20 there was a 2020 special that I had also that you can watch for free on YouTube and I'll link that in the show notes because it's an awesome watch to watch him and Dana in their interview and hearing from them firsthand I had so much stuff videos on him and it was my little my little time capsule of of his journey from a journey of paralysis.

Christopher Reeve's Advocacy

Eventually he became a fighter for paralysis and for research to help find a cure for paralysis he was determined to find a cure and to walk again sadly that never happened during his lifetime as he passed away in on October 10th of 2004 just nine years after his accident but during that time he had created the um originally it was called the Christopher Reeve Foundation and then later was renamed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation which now is actually originally it began as the Christopher Reeve Foundation but it but it morphed into but it later was changed to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation after Dana's untimely death just a year after Chris's death which left their son Will um an orphan basically.

Will Reeve's Tragedy

So he lost both of his parents by the age of I believe he was 14 or 13 can you imagine that being 13 and first you lose your dad and then just like within a year you lose your mom to lung cancer and she never even smoked either she wasn't a smoker so that was always a mystery of how she contracted lung cancer when she wasn't even a smoker so Will was only three when his when Chris was paralyzed and so he really only knew his dad as um I don't know how many memories he has of his dad before the accident but it was just very heartbreaking for Will I felt so bad for him when um I heard that.

Christopher Reeve's Later Work

And anyways Christopher also made appearances like I said on the Oscars he made an appearance on the TV show Smallville which was another kind of a Superman show Chris made an appearance a special appearance on an episode of Smallville he was also in a movie called Rear Window which was a remake I believe of a Hitchcock classic called Rear Window and he also directed a movie called the Brooke Ellison story which is a beautiful story about a little girl that was paralyzed at the age of eight I believe or nine named Brooke Ellison and it that's also a powerful a powerful movie to watch that I'll talk about on another episode of the podcast.

My Personal Connection

But um Chris did a lot and I remember I wrote a couple of times to him and sent it to the foundation I remember I got a letter back that was signed by him I don't think it was actually signed by him but it was nice when I was 15 years old 16 years old getting a letter from um the foundation I have I wear my little Superman jewelry proudly I have a Superman keychain I have a Superman Superman army tags and I was ecstatic when the biopic came out of Christopher Reeve called Superman that came out last year in September and if you haven't watched it I highly encourage you to watch it as well because you will see firsthand stuff that was never shown before there was a lot of stuff clips and interviews that were used in the biopic that I had that I had on VHS which I don't have them anymore because I threw away all my VHS tapes to try to declutter my home but a lot of those clips that were used in the biopic I had already known about or I had recorded but you see interviews of his three children now talking about the memories and going really personal and showing photographs and talking about other they're just their experience growing up with their dad and it's very touching and emotional.

My Superman Collection

To top off my Superman memorabilia collection my oldest son found a theater that actually had the movie poster available and I got the poster for free so I have the Superman the Christopher Reeve story movie poster framed and on my wall in in my home and I remember when some people that saw the poster knew who he was and others were just like in just like in amazement and especially some of the women employees are like that's a good picture of him he was a handsome man I go of course he was I mean so many women I know I don't know anybody who didn't have a crush on the man when he was popular including myself even though I was a young girl but even as an older girl I mean he was just a handsome man and portrayed Superman in a way that no one else can ever portray Superman ever again.

Closing Thoughts

But if you're interested yeah if you watch Superman you'll you'll hear more from his children Will who was the youngest and Alexandra and the oldest Matthew they really tell some really nice stories and you hear more about Chris's life I've read his biography he wrote he wrote his own biography Superman that I have I received as a high school graduation present along with the audio version of the book I also have his second book Nothing's Impossible so I've read his books and just so much stuff but anyways I just wanted to spend this time and do a little tribute episode to Christopher Reeve my all-time hero.

Conclusion

I thank you guys for listening thank you for joining me on this special bonus episode of Wholesome TV Picks Christopher Reeve's story is one of incredible courage and determination reminding us that true heroism goes far beyond what we see on the screen his legacy of hope and perseverance continues to inspire and I hope his journey has touched your heart as much as it has mine if you enjoyed this episode please be sure to share it with those who would appreciate this powerful story and don't forget to tune in next time for more family-friendly content that shapes our lives until then take care and keep believing in the heroes all around us.