Christopher Reeve, Somewhere in Heaven.

“Superman or Green Lantern ain't got nothing' on me”

-Donovan

A new book, Somewhere in Heaven, about the life of Christopher and Dana Reeve has just come out.

Like Rock Hudson for AIDS and Lou Gehrig for ALS,  Christopher  Reeve  put a famous and courageous face on an ailment.   Because of Reeve, money and resources have been  devoted to possible cures for spinal cord injuries.

I work with lesser known  people who benefited  from the attention that Christopher Reeve brought to spinal  injuries.  These aren’t famous movie stars. They are people by  a truck  or who  fell on a slippery floor.

Like Reeve, their lives changed in one second.

Christopher Reeve allowed  the world  to have an insight into his injuries.  He was a  famous,  good looking guy with  resources.

Few people  with a spinal cord injuries  have that kind of money  and support.  They also don’t have the ability to command public attention they way that Reeve did.

It would have been easy for Reeve to suffer in silence.  He chose to be an advocate instead.

An injury can bring out the best or worst in an injured person’s families.   I’ve seen families show  support that seems super human.

Dana Reeve show of  true love was crucial in Christopher’s struggle. Many doubt he would have survived the initial injuries without her encouragement and support.

Christopher was lucky to have Dana.  I’ve seen family members be insensitive and cruel.

I  saw the wife of a quadriplegic say, in front of her husband, that she was tired  of taking care of a cripple in a wheelchair.  Tears started running down her husband’s face and he could not move his hands to wipe them away.

Friends of the injured person often drift away.  They go on with their lives and forget about their friend who is struggling.  

An injured man told me that his goal was to someday drive to each of his old friends' houses and honk the horn so that they knew he was still alive.

Love  has a  power to make sick people better.  I’ve seen family members  help their loved ones improve physically and emotionally.

Government benefits  for injured people aren’t as good as they should be.  Many  government agencies  started outsourcing benefit programs to  big companies.  The  companies make injured people fill out ream after ream of needless forms.  Sometimes, they  cut off  an injured person’s benefits just because they didn’t  fill the paperwork  out quickly enough.

I helped a quadriplegic man get some government benefits he deserved.  When I finished, he asked his wife to hug me since he couldn’t.  

It is hard not to root for a guy like that.

Christopher Reeve was able to bring in dollars for  research on spinal cord injuries.   Reeve  focused attention on scientific solutions and let the world  know that injured people  need  help and support.

 Christopher Reeve’s injury changed and shortened his life but  it was a path that allowed him to make a great impact on the world.   He was a pretty good actor, but few actors make the mark on society that Christopher Reeve did.

Reeve played a super hero in the movies.   Real super heroes are not on the big screen.   Real super heroes are injured people, and their families, who deal with life changing injuries with love, courage and compassion.

Like Christopher and Dana Reeve did.

Don McNay is the Chairman of the Board for  McNay Settlement Group in Richmond, Ky.    You can write to him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or read his award winning column  at www.donmcnay.com  McNay is the Treasurer for the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.