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Christopher Reeve

by Nick from USA

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."

What is a hero? A hero is someone who is courageous, daring, and doesn’t give up. An example of someone with these traits is Christopher Reeve. Christopher Reeve was born on September 25, 1952. He lived in Princeton, N.J., and in New York City.

Christopher Reeve studied at Cornell University. Then he studied at Julliard School of Performing Arts in New York City. He became a famous actor. He played the role of Superman in the Superman movies.

Then something life changing happened to him. He was injured during a horseback riding accident in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1995. He broke his spinal cord and became paralyzed from the neck down. He was confined to a wheelchair that operated by sipping or puffing a straw. Even though he was paralyzed, he continued to travel. He became a motivational speaker. He joined Robin Williams at a fundraising dinner. For the next few years, Reeve did not sit around feeling sorry for himself.

In 2002, Christopher Reeve and his wife opened a center in New Jersey. This center teaches paralyzed people to live more independently. He also donated $22 million to paralysis researchers. He also wrote an autobiography, Still Me.

Christopher Reeve died when he was 52 years old. He is a hero because he devoted his time to spinal cord research, even though he became paralyzed. For that reason he is very courageous. He didn’t just give up.

Page created on 1/7/2005 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 1/7/2005 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

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