Christopher Reeve Interview: A Hero Onscreen and Of (page 3 of 5)

"I Haven't Given Up"

RD: Are you still optimistic you will walk again?
Reeve: I am optimistic. But I also know that, with time, I'm beginning to fight issues of aging as well as long-term paralysis. So it seems more difficult to project than it was five years ago. But I haven't given up.

RD: Has there been a change in your optimism?
Reeve: Hope, to me, must be based -- now knowing as much as I do -- on a projection derived from solid data. But, yes, there's been a change in my state of mind, because in May of next year it will be ten years [since the accident], and I doubt if by that time there's going to be a procedure suitable for me. At 52, knowing that a safe trial for me may still be years away has changed my perspective. I didn't think it would take this long.

RD: What's been the hardest part?
Reeve: Watching the slow progress of research in this country. I don't know if it would have made me walk sooner, but I would have had the satisfaction of knowing we're all on the same page. Groups of people who have differences about all kinds of issues are united to fight against AIDS. Wouldn't it be great if we were as united about biomedical research for diseases that affect 128 million Americans?

RD: Tell me about the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act.
Reeve: It's broken into three parts. One is for biomedical research. The other is rehabilitation research. The third is for quality-of-life programs. It would create five centers across the country, to make sure that there is support for people living with paralysis. Patients do better the sooner you get them up and moving. Put them in pools, on treadmills, on exercise bikes -- anything to keep the systems of the body from breaking down. No magic pill will cure spinal cord injury. It'll be a combination of a drug therapy, or procedure, plus rehabilitation.

RD: Does the Act have broad support?
Reeve: I'm quite optimistic that it will pass, because there's nothing controversial about it. It doesn't even mention embryonic stem cells.

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