In 1995, Christopher Reeve sustained a cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) that resulted in quadriplegia. Reeve was known to millions around the world for playing the title role in the 1978 film Superman, and his celebrity status resulted in widespread interest in his injury and recovery. Shortly after his injury he began advocating for spinal cord injury research and disability-related legislation. He eventually served in leadership roles in the American Paralysis Association and the National Organization on Disability and founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation with the goal of improving funding for spinal cord injury research.1
Reeve became known for his boundless optimism about his own recovery and the conviction that science would make significant progress in mitigating the most debilitating effects of SCI within his lifetime. Until his death in 2004, Reeve remained hopeful that he would walk again, and his advocacy included a strong emphasis on reversing paralysis, not simply living with it. The extent to which this hope dominated his message is captured in the title of a 2007 documentary of his experiences, Hope in Motion. There were, however, critics of his efforts to inspire who pointed out that many aspects of Reeve’s experience did not reflect the realities faced by most individuals who live with SCI or of the likelihood of significant functional improvement following SCI. Reeve had more resources to devote to his rehabilitation than most individuals, and the excessive promotion of even minor improvements in his condition may have contributed to misunderstanding of SCI and unreasonable expectations of recovery among those with similar disabilities.2,3
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