In this article: Online extra: More remembrances Decade of giving and the foundation's impact

COVER STORY

A Super Legacy

Even today, the efforts of Christopher and Dana Reeve continue to help others. As their foundation turns 10, we share personal memories from those who knew them.

"When we spoke after the accident, Chris told me, 'I really sense being on a journey.' " --Barbara Walters For more on stem cell research, Superman tags and Team Reeve recruitment for the 2006 New York City Marathon christopherreeve.org.

Ten years ago, Christopher Reeve lived the life of the very famous. In 1996, he learned he'd get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He appeared on the cover of "Time" that year, and he launched his own foundation. For certain, he was a star -- a star with a profound sense of purpose. On May 27, 1995, he had shattered two vertebrae in his spinal cord in a horse riding accident. He couldn't move from the neck down or breathe on his own. At first, he wanted to die.

Then he decided to live. Having played Superman, Reeve leveraged his fame to bring the world's attention to spinal cord injuries. In the "Time" story, he conveyed how advancements may one day lead him to live a normal life. And the Christopher Reeve Foundation -- launched by Reeve and his wife, Dana, a singer and tireless partner in his cause -- remains the center of hope for paralysis victims worldwide.

Today, both are gone. Christopher Reeve, 52, died in October 2004 after suffering cardiac arrest brought on by an infection. Dana Reeve, 44, a non-smoker, died this past March of lung cancer. The foundation, however, continues to move forward (see below).

As a tribute to the Reeves' legacy, USA WEEKEND Magazine spoke with those who knew them well. In their recollections, it's clear that the Reeves touched so many lives, not because they were super-human, but because they were so compellingly human.

Barbara Walters, co-host of "The View"
After his accident, everyone wanted to interview Chris. I ended up doing it. When we spoke just five months after the accident, Chris told me that he was beyond the "Why me?" stage. "I really sense being on a journey," he said. I became close to Chris and Dana. I went over to their house many times. I'll always remember how excited Chris was after they let him take his [breathing] tube out. We were making coffee at the time. "I can actually 'smell the coffee' now!" he said. It was so sweet. I also saw what Dana went through. It took three hours just to get Chris washed up and ready to be put in the chair.

After he died, she was supposed to sing on "The View," but she canceled. Then we got the news about her illness. We e-mailed each other a lot after that. I was under the impression that she was getting better. Then she was gone. I was devastated.

Peter Kiernan, board chairman of Reeve's foundation
I knew Chris and Dana long before they met. When we were growing up, Chris and I would play against each other in hockey. I met Dana when she was going to Middlebury College in Vermont. My brother was playing McMurphy, the lead in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," the character Jack Nicholson played in the film. Dana was playing Nurse Ratched, who, you may know, is a very cold, awful character. Dana had to be a great actress to pull that off. She was so warm and very funny.

Years later, we reconnected after the accident. By now, I was involved with a charity for the disabled. Chris put up his bicycle for an auction we were running, and I bid on it and won it. I took the bike and sent it back to him with a note saying, "You're going to walk again, so you'll be needing this." Then, the next year, he donated the bike again! I bought it again and sent it back to him. This became a running joke every year. He'd even get his business friends to bid up the price.

Mark Messier, former star with the New York Rangers and six-time Stanley Cup champion
I met Chris before his accident. I would often see him at Madison Square Garden. He was a huge hockey fan. After his accident, I went to see him in the hospital. Dana and Will, their son, were also there. Will would be sitting on his lap, and you could just feel how badly Chris wanted to hug him.

Will plays hockey now. After Chris died, Dana would bring him to the rink and watch practice. We would have some time after to work on some of his skills. We all really enjoyed these times. When Dana fell ill, everybody was in shock. Then she sang at my retirement ceremony at the Garden on Jan. 12 this year. It was a surprise and honor. You could just feel the energy from the crowd, it was so emotionally powerful. After the fact, I learned that she had changed her chemotherapy schedule to perform at my celebration, which made her commitment to be there all the more powerful.

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won the 2006 Best Actor Oscar for Capote
Dana and I were non-equity actors in the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the late 1980s. It was a very special time in her life. She and Chris had been dating for a while by then. But that could be intimidating. He was already this famous actor who had done "Superman," and we didn't even have agents. But she broke down all of that by being so talented and fun and supportive. She made everyone feel like a best friend. Even after the accident, the two of them still came to the plays I'd do to show their support. It was very touching.

John McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., who directs the spinal cord injury program at Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute, and physician to Christopher Reeve
When I met him in 1999, Chris seemed to have lost some hope. That may surprise people now, because of the relentless optimism that he became known for. But there was very little of that then. I simply told him this: "I can help you."

That's what he really needed to hear. It had an immediate, positive effect on his spirit. I explained that, with exercise and treatment, we can ward off the accelerated aging process that happens in these cases. We put him on a bike and set up treatment so that electrodes on the skin could activate his nerve endings, allowing his muscles to contract. He started building up lots of hope then.

We soon became friends and worked together for his cause. When we lobbied for stem-cell research, I became the student and he became the mentor. I mean, Chris really knew his politics -- and the work excited him. It made him feel alive and full of purpose. It gave him a sense of empowerment. When he regained ability to move, it was like Superman walking again. When he started lobbying, it was like Superman was flying again.

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