Spinal Cord Research Funds

When actor Christopher Reeve was critically injured last year in a riding competition, he joined the more than 12,000 people who suffer spinal cord injuries each year and the more than 250,000 Americans in total who have disabilities related to spinal cord injuries. Reeve’s courage and perseverance are an inspiration to us. Not only has he made phenomenal progress considering the severity of his injury, he has become a beacon of hope for others who suffer similar disabilities.

Yesterday Reeve only played Superman. Today, he is Superman.

Watching Reeve’s interviews, I was impressed and deeply moved not just by his positive attitude, but his concern for supporting research to help others. The annual budget to maintain and care for those with a spinal cord injury is $8.7 billion, but only $40 million is budgeted for research to find a cure. Having been a rider myself for more than half a century, I decided to spearhead efforts to fund a research facility for spinal cord regen- eration--to do something positive for Reeve, a fellow equestrian, and also help others.

Earlier this month, Christopher Reeve, the Joan Irvine Smith & Athalie R. Clarke Foundation, UC Irvine and the American Paralysis Assn. announced collaborative efforts to establish the Reeve-Irvine Research Center at the UCI College of Medicine. The center will study spinal cord regeneration and the development of therapies to promote recovery. The proposed center will award the Christopher Reeve Research Medal and a $50,000 cash prize annually to the investigator whose work has most significantly advanced the field.

The foundation has agreed to provide $1 million for the establishment of an endowment fund if UCI raises at least $2 million in other endowment funds.

The vast majority of us go about our daily lives enjoying full physical agility and the ability to touch and feel the world around us. Only when we see someone in Reeve’s condition do we comprehend our fragility and realize that there but for the grace of God go I.

JOAN IRVINE SMITH

President, Joan Irvine

Smith & Athalie R. Clark

Foundation, Irvine