Reeve highlighted stem cell research

The bitter irony of Superman living a life confined to a wheelchair was not lost on Christopher Reeve.

A tragic riding accident in 1995 left the actor – who played a planet-saving superhero – paralysed and struggling to breathe without a ventilator.

But instead of hiding away from the stunned public, Reeve returned to acting and politics to become a strong advocate for controversial stem cell research.

His profile has remained so high that he was mentioned only two days ago by US Democrat leader John Kerry during his second presidential debate with President George Bush.

Mr Kerry said he was in favour of further stem cell research, saying he was a friend of Reeve who may one day be able to walk again thanks to such science.

Reeve relied heavily on his Hollywood status for fundraising and to improve the profile of spinal cord injury research.

He was a champion of controversial research which uses human embryos for embryonic stem cell research and cloning.

In 2000, Newsweek said: “Thanks to Christopher Reeve, spinal cord injuries - which affect 250,000 Americans – have won great attention, while mass killers like lung cancer and stroke attract relatively less.”

From the outset, while still seriously ill, the actor harnessed the international attention to highlight spinal injuries.

Less than a year after his injury, Reeve began accepting invitations for speaking engagements and travelled across the US talking about disability issues.

He appeared at the 1996 Academy Awards, helped host the Paralympics in Atlanta, and spoke at the Democratic Convention in August that year.

He fought for legislation which increase the limit for catastrophic injury health coverage from $1m (€806,200) to $10m (€8.1m).

Reeve went on to become chairman of the American Paralysis Association and vice chairman of the National Organisation on Disability.

In 1996, he set up the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation to raise money for research and provide grants to the disabled.

Never shying away from the political scene, Reeve went to the White House in May 1996 and accosted then president Bill Clinton and wife Hillary personally.

He elicited a promise of an additional $10m (€8.1m) – which never materialised – to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for spinal cord research.

In May 2002, the US government opened the National Health Promotion and Information Centre for People With Paralysis, known as the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Centre.

The centre was designed to help prevent secondary illnesses caused as a knock-on result of the disability and improve the quality of life for those living with disability.

The devastating effect of spinal injuries turned Reeve’s world upside down in May 1995.

When he fell and landed on his head, he fractured the uppermost vertebrae in his spine and was unable to breathe.

He shattered his C1-C2 vertebrae and spent six months at Kessler Rehabilitation Institute in New Jersey.

His condition left him at constant risk of secondary illnesses such as pneumonia, infections and blood clots.

Reeve’s second wife Dana carried out extensive renovations to their house in Bedford, New York, to accommodate his electric wheelchair and special needs.

Speaking about the impact of his disability, he said: “This accident has been difficult for all of us. But it hasn’t frightened anybody away. We all miss the activities.

“I’d be kidding you if I said I didn’t miss that. Ultimately, you have to accept that being together is more important than doing together.”

Through hours of gruelling therapy, Reeve gradually regained sensation in parts of his body, particularly the spine, his left leg, and his left arm.

He was perpetually hopeful, once saying: “My spinal cord is ready below the injury. I’m realistically optimistic. I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life like this.”

Before his death he was able to move an index finger, his wrist and thumb.

In November last year, he revealed that a device implanted into his chest allowed him to breathe without a ventilator for hours at a time.

During an interview with Barbara Walters for ABC’s 20/20, Reeve said: “It gives me now, a sense of one more piece of the puzzle being solved… because a spinal cord injury affects every system in the body: bladder, bowels, sexual function, everything.

“So the more and more that you can get some systems back… like the ability to breathe as normal… just makes you feel that you’re moving forward.”

On May 24 this year, scientists revealed they had regrown nerve fibres in laboratory experiments, creating the potential to repair damaged spinal cords one day.

The research at the University of Miami in Florida was partly funded by Reeve’s Foundation and implied that those with spinal injuries could one day walk again.

Sadly, any such breakthrough has come too late for the world’s most famous superhero.