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Although he will always be remembered for portraying "Superman," the
greatest role of actor Christopher Reeve's life was as a champion of
sufferers of spinal cord injuries and an advocate of stem cell research.
Unlike the man of steel, he wasn't faster than a speeding bullet, more
powerful than a locomotive and
he couldn't leap tall buildings in a single bound.
But the courage and determination Reeve displayed in trying to overcome
his paralysis from a 1995 horse-riding accident far surpassed any of the
feats of the comic book hero.
"He became a real-life Superman. His heroism, his courage was
extraordinary," Colin Blakemore, the chief executive of Britain's Medical
Research Council said.
"Like many people who suffer some terrible injury, Christopher Reeve
was reinvented by that
experience and brought the kind of energy and enthusiasm that made him
successful as a film star to an entirely different issue, with huge
effect."
Reeve, 52, died on October 10 of heart failure after having treatment
for an infected pressure wound without realizing his dream of walking
again.
But in the nine years since his accident, he made personal progress to
regain some feeling, established the Christopher Reeve Paralysis
Foundation, a non-profit research organization, and used his fame to raise
millions of dollars for research into spinal cord injuries.
He also provided hope and inspiration to other patients and lobbied for
scientists to be allowed to conduct stem cell research in the hopes of
eventually curing paralysis and other illnesses such as diabetes and
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
"He has been our champion. If you think of spinal injuries you
automatically conjure up a
picture of Christopher Reeve," said Paul Smith, executive director of the
Spinal Injuries Association in England.
It is because of Reeve that spinal cord injuries and stem cell research
are so widely discussed, according to Smith. The fact that it happened to
Reeve showed it can affect anyone, even Superman.
Reeve did not live long enough to see whether stem cell research could
help restore movement to the paralyzed. The research is still in its early
days and no one knows what advances it may
bring.
(Agencies) |
克里斯托弗·里夫因成功塑造“超人”形象而被人们永远铭记，然而在他的一生中，演员克里斯托弗·里夫扮演的最著名的角色是脊椎损伤患者中的斗士和干细胞研究的支持者。
他没有金刚之躯，他不会比高速飞行的子弹飞得更快，不会比火车头更有力，不能轻轻一跃就跳上高楼。
但是自从1995年他不幸坠马瘫痪以来，在力图战胜瘫痪的过程中他所表现出的勇气和决心远远超出了任何连环画英雄的壮举。
英国医学研究学会主任科林·布莱克莫尔说：“他成了现实生活中的超人。他有着非凡的英雄气概和勇气。”
“像许多遭受可怕疾病的人一样，那段经历不仅彻底改变了克里斯托弗·里夫，而且给他带来了活力和积极乐观的精神。这对他影响很大，尽管抗击病魔对于他来说是和拍电影完全不同的领域，但是他仍然和当年做电影明星时一样成功。”
10月10日，52岁的里夫因心脏功能衰竭而与世长辞。在此之前，他因伤口严重感染接受了治疗。他始终没能实现再次站起来的梦想。
但是在那次事故发生后的九年里，他凭借自身的进步重新获得了人们的尊敬和欣赏。他创立了克里斯托弗·里夫瘫痪基金会，这是一个非赢利的研究组织，该组织利用里夫的名声筹集了数百万美元，用于脊椎损伤的研究。
他还给其它病人带去了希望和鼓励。他为科学家们进行游说，呼吁允许进行干细胞研究，希望通过干细胞研究最终能治愈瘫痪和其它疾病，例如糖尿病、阿兹海默症和巴金森氏症。
英国脊髓瘫痪协会的常务会长保罗·史密斯说：“他是我们的战士。一想到脊髓损伤，你就会自然而然想起克里斯托弗·里夫的形象。”
据史密斯介绍，正是由于里夫的倡导，脊椎损害和干细胞研究才被如此广泛地讨论。这种疾病发生在里夫身上说明它可以影响任何人，包括“超人”在内。
里夫的英年早逝使他无法看到干细胞研究是否能帮助瘫痪者恢复运动。这项研究仍然处于起步阶段，没有人知道它会带来怎样的进步。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2004-10-13 10:20
