永远的超人
Superman to the End
演员兼导演克里斯托弗•里夫在一次骑马事故中受伤瘫痪，但他此后的行为却令全世界为之振奋。10月10日，他因心脏衰竭离开人世。
自1995年起，里夫颈部以下的身体就无法自主活动。他克服了极大的痛苦，积极、顽强地生活着。他将科学界、知名人士和政界团结在一起，鼓励干细胞研究的各种尝试，帮助寻找治疗神经系统疾病的方法。在第二轮总统竞选辩论中，当话题转向使用人体胚胎细胞进行科学研究这一有争议的问题时，约翰•克里还提到了里夫的工作。
事故发生前，里夫是一位出色的运动员：他在影片中亲自出演特技，还酷爱户外运动。20岁刚出头，他就获得了飞机驾照，两次驾驶小型飞机单人飞越大西洋。他还是一位专业的水手、潜水员和滑雪运动员。
到了20世纪90年代，赛马成了里夫的最爱。1995年5月，他参加了一场马术跳跃赛。他的马（在障碍前）突然停下，将他甩了出去。里夫一头栽到了地上，他的脊柱最上端椎体因此骨折，颈部以下的身体立刻失去了知觉。及时的治疗挽救了他的生命，复杂的手术固定了粉碎的椎体。
由于颈部高位脊髓的损伤，大脑发出的维持生命体征的信号也立刻被切断了：他不能活动肢体，没有知觉，不能呼吸。克里斯托弗•里夫一动不动地躺在医院的病床上，靠呼吸机维持着呼吸。他凝视着妻子戴纳，用口形默示“或许我们应该放弃了。”在那个关键时刻，面对生死选择的紧急关头，戴纳坚定地回答，“你依然是你，我爱你。”
从那时起，他不但活了下来，还为自己、为家人、为全世界成千上万脊髓损伤的人付出了不懈的努力。
里夫的乐观和决心坚定不移，他在事故发生之后不久曾说，“以后一定会好起来。”里夫选择了积极的生活态度，全身心地投入到为干细胞研究募集资金的事情上来。他创立了克里斯托弗•里夫瘫痪基金会，虽然研究进展缓慢，但他始终没有放弃。
他充满希望，始终坚信基金会的信条：“我们必须行动，我们可以尝试，我们能够做到。”
For millions of fans,
he will always be Superman.
But to countless others,
he will be regarded forever as a
real-life hero.
Christopher Reeve1, an actor and director who became an inspiration worldwide after being paralyzed in a horse riding accident, died of heart failure on October 10th.
Unable to move from the neck down since 1995, Reeve overcame devastating adversity to forge a life of passionate activism. He brought together the worlds of science, celebrity and politics to encourage efforts in stem cell2 research and help find cures for neurological disorders. During the second presidential debate, John Kerry mentioned Reeve’s work when the topic turned to the divisive question of using human embryos for scientific researches.
Reeve, before his accident, was known as a superb athlete who did his own stunts in films and was an avid outdoorsman. He earned his pilot’s license in his early 20s and twice flew solo across the Atlantic in a small plane. He was also an expert sailor, diver and skier.
By the 1990s, horses had become his passion. In May 1995, he was taking part in a jumping competition, when his horse balked and threw him. Reeve landed headfirst, fracturing the uppermost vertebrae in his spine. He was instantly paralyzed from the neck down. Prompt medical attention saved his life, and delicate surgery stabilized the shattered vertebrae.
With his spinal cord damaged high in his neck, the signals sent by the brain to keep his body alive instantly were cut off. He couldn’t move his limbs. He couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t breathe. Immobilized in a hospital bed and unable to breathe without a machine pumping his lungs, Christopher Reeve looked into the eyes of his wife, Dana, and mouthed “Maybe we should let me go.” In that critical moment, with the choice of life or death in the balance, she unhesitatingly responded “you’re still you and I love you.”
Since then, he has not only survived, but has fought for himself, for his family, and for the hundreds of thousands of people with spinal cord injuries around the world.
Reeve’s optimism and determination were unflagging: “There’ll be a lot of nice years ahead,” he said soon after the accident. Making a choice to adopt a positive spirit, Reeve became devoted to raising money for stem cell research, and he created the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. Even though it seemed that progress was slow, Reeve would not give up.
He was hopeful, and he stuck to the motto of his foundation: “We must. We can. We will.”
1. Christopher Reeve: 克里斯托弗•里夫，1952年出生于纽约。他从小喜欢表演，从康乃尔大学获得文学学士学位后，又进入朱利亚德戏剧学院进修戏剧，同著名演员罗宾•威廉姆斯同住一室。1978年他因在《超人》一片中的出色表演而成为人们心目中的超级英雄。之后他又拍摄了三部《超人》电影，他的幽默感和独特魅力使那些影片成为不可超越的经典。
2. stem cell: 干细胞，一群尚未完全分化的细胞，具有分裂增殖成另一个与本身完全相同的细胞、以及分化成多种特定功能的体细胞两种特性。过去人们认为脑细胞和神经细胞都不可再生，后来科学家发现部分区域的脑细胞和神经细胞是可以再生的，于是在受损部位移植可再生细胞的干细胞便成为治疗神经系统疾病的希望。
（编辑:youke）
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