With the death of actor and activist Christopher Reeve at 52, a condolence book has sprung up on the Christopher Reeve homepage, an unofficial fan site. Tributes have rolled in from around the world. A message posted by a fan in Scotland reads: "Christopher's courage was inspiring. I hope that, having left his paralysed body behind, his spirit can soar."
The sentiment is repeated again and again across the web today. The Superman actor, paralysed from the neck down after a horse riding accident in 1995, became a symbol of obstinate hope against a condition many believed could never be improved.
Reeve was always determined he would walk again, and initially believed it would be possible by the time he was 50. He did achieve some success against paralysis: moving his fingers, legs and arms, sensing hot and cold, feeling some sensation, gaining a certain amount of freedom from his respirator.
For a 2003 article in the New Yorker, writer Jerome Groopman visited Reeve at his Bedford, New York home and witnessed the actor's unswerving optimism and faith in scientific advances.
Reeve was a strong supporter of stem cell research and was working to progress the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act through Congress. The bill would dedicate £300m to spinal cord research.
Some disabled people, however, argued that Reeve - from a relatively privileged position - was offering false hope to others reliant on respirators and wheelchairs, who needed to learn to make a life for themselves. In particular, his critics cited his decision to make an advertisement - aired during the 2000 Super Bowl - that showed a computer-modified Reeve walking across a stage to present an award. It was an imagining, Reeve argued, of a distinct possibility in the not too distant future.
The Christopher Reeve homepage, by the way, has a complete listing of books by and about Reeve, along with videos and DVDs of his films.
You can make a donation in Reeve's honour to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation via the foundation's website. A notice on the site says that cards may also be sent to the family in care of the foundation at 500 Morris Avenue, Springfield, New Jersey 07081, USA.
