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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”形象而被人們永遠銘記，然而在他的一生中，演員克里斯托弗·里夫扮演的最著名的角色是脊椎損傷患者中的斗士和干細胞研究的支持者。
他沒有金剛之軀，他不會比高速飛行的子彈飛得更快，不會比火車頭更有力，不能輕輕一躍就跳上高樓。
但是自從1995年他不幸墜馬癱瘓以來，在力圖戰勝癱瘓的過程中他所表現出的勇氣和決心遠遠超出了任何連環畫英雄的壯舉。
英國醫學研究學會主任科林·布萊克莫爾說：“他成了現實生活中的超人。他有著非凡的英雄氣概和勇氣?！?
“像許多遭受可怕疾病的人一樣，那段經歷不僅徹底改變了克里斯托弗·里夫，而且給他帶來了活力和積極樂觀的精神。這對他影響很大，盡管抗擊病魔對于他來說是和拍電影完全不同的領域，但是他仍然和當年做電影明星時一樣成功。”
10月10日，52歲的里夫因心臟功能衰竭而與世長辭。在此之前，他因傷口嚴重感染接受了治療。他始終沒能實現再次站起來的夢想。
但是在那次事故發生后的九年里，他憑借自身的進步重新獲得了人們的尊敬和欣賞。他創立了克里斯托弗·里夫癱瘓基金會，這是一個非贏利的研究組織，該組織利用里夫的名聲籌集了數百萬美元，用于脊椎損傷的研究。
他還給其它病人帶去了希望和鼓勵。他為科學家們進行游說，呼吁允許進行干細胞研究，希望通過干細胞研究最終能治愈癱瘓和其它疾病，例如糖尿病、阿茲海默癥和巴金森氏癥。
英國脊髓癱瘓協會的常務會長保羅·史密斯說：“他是我們的戰士。一想到脊髓損傷，你就會自然而然想起克里斯托弗·里夫的形象?！?
據史密斯介紹，正是由于里夫的倡導，脊椎損害和干細胞研究才被如此廣泛地討論。這種疾病發生在里夫身上說明它可以影響任何人，包括“超人”在內。
里夫的英年早逝使他無法看到干細胞研究是否能幫助癱瘓者恢復運動。這項研究仍然處于起步階段，沒有人知道它會帶來怎樣的進步。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2004-10-13 10:20
