A few years after the riding accident that left him paralyzed, journalist Jeffrey Zaslow sat down with Christopher Reeve. As Zaslow later wrote in The Wall Street Journal, Reeve originally had no intention of living anything other than an active life, explaining, “I remember saying to my brother: ‘If we couldn’t have the freedom to scuba dive, to fly, to play tennis, life wouldn’t be worth living. It would be better to pull the plug.”
Immediately after the accident, Reeve was not alone with that thought: His mother, Barbara Johnson, after being told of the likelihood that he would be paralyzed for the rest of his life, claimed that he would want life support removed, life-saving procedures stopped, and no surgical intervention attempted.
Dana Reeve insisted that only Christopher could make that decision, and once he was fully conscious and aware, he initially agreed. According to Christopher Anderson’s book, “Somewhere in Heaven: The Remarkable Love Story of Dana and Christopher Reeve,” his doctor, Dr. John Jane, said, “At first, Chris wanted to die — no question. … He didn’t feel this new life he was faced with was worth living.” It wasn’t until Dana made a declaration of love and a promise to be by his side throughout the entire journey — regardless of what he chose — that he agreed to go through with the surgery to reattach his skull and spine.
