Sometimes, you
learn the hard and painful way. This is the case with people who encounter near
death experiences that leave them broken. Still, they choose to pursue a
mission to help others avoid a similar fate, and to become whole again.
Founded in 1982,
The
Reeve Foundation – which is known as a charitable organization – was
renamed to Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to commemorate the very traits
that the couple displayed, for the foundation to help people get informed about
spinal cord injuries: “partnership, courage and compassion.”
Incidentally,
Reeve came out of a horse riding accident in 1992 which made him quadriplegic,
or in simpler terms, the loss of use of limbs.
The field of
spinal cord research has changed drastically since then, and now it is a
promising arena. The Quality of Life Program, which is considered the legacy of
Dana, offers a grants program and a Paralysis Resource Center that keeps the life-changing
information drive going.
Christopher and
Dana Reeve may have been paralyzed both physically and emotionally because of the
tragedy, but they were able to turn their bitter experience into something
positive for the benefit of others.