On October 10th, 2004, Christopher Reeve passed away at the age of 52. This great man who was best known as Superman in his four films portraying the legendary DC Comics character, also was an accomplished director, screen writer, and producer. Later in his live, Mr. Reeve was a very big supporter of human embryonic stem cell research for people with spinal cord injuries, after tragically being thrown off a horse on May 27, 1995 during an equestrian competition in Virginia.

Nothing is Impossible, Mr. Reeve.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to remember him and recognized his courage and devotion to helping people, because it was in a large way that thanks to him I began being a physical therapist for those with paralysis, multiple sclerosis, stroke victims, and anyone with with a physical dissability that I might be able to aid.

This evolved into also becoming a personal trainer that allowed me to expand the types of individuals that I could help, by strategically coming up with exercises for kids with hip displacement issues, adults with advanced osteoperosis, people with severe gout, those that have suffered from surgery malpractice, accident victims, cerebral palsy, and people with brain anneurisms.

I wish for the best in the advancement of finding a permanent cure for paralysis, whether it be by human embryonic stem cell research or some other way, but before that day comes (and I say “before” and not “if” because I believe it will happen eventually), I will be more than happy to do my part the best I can, in making some people’s lives just a little bit easier.

You’ll always be remembered as Superman, both on and off screen.

So thank you, Christopher…thank you from the bottom of my heart for your work, because it was when I was a Kinesiology student at California State University of Northridge, going for my Bachelor of Science Degree, I was in the Brown Center (CSUN’s own Physical Therapy Center) and was working with my first client and saw you in a newspaper article on the wall.

I never forgot the day you fell off that horse and how sad I was for you and your family, but when I’d look at that paper and see your progress or watch you on the news up until the very end, I knew that there needed to be people out there to help before the cure would eventually come.

Was it the fact that I so closely tied Superman to you and that his/your heroic deeds on screen impacted me so much as a kid that I wanted to do something close to your real life cause? Or…was it the real life witnessing of how passionate a person can be for a cause, by pushing forward so much, despite being so limited from a physical perspective, that showed me that I could do something too? It’s probably a bit of both in all honesty, but here’s to your legacy lasting forever.

For anyone reading this that would like to learn more about Christopher Reeve, as well as research going into curing paralysis, you can visit ChristopherReeve.org. Here’s to you, Superman!

The following two videos are fitting, because they’re of me with my client training together to walk again. For more on that story, you can read my article if you’d like.

 
Anything is possible, Part 1.

Anything is possible Part 2.

For Christopher Reeve: September 25th, 1952 to October 10th, 2004.