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Dana Reeve dies at age 44 By Olivia Barker, USA TODAY
Dana Reeve, who became the face of paralysis awareness after Christopher Reeve's death, lost her battle with lung cancer late Monday, seven months after she announced her diagnosis. She was 44. (Related: Photo gallery | Share your thoughts)
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</TD><TD class=sidebar vAlign=top width=75>Dana Reeve, who actively sought better treatments for paralysis, lost her struggle with lung cancer.</TD><TD rowSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom align=left>By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Reeve was a relatively unknown singer and actress before her Superman husband suffered near-total paralysis after a horse-riding accident in 1995. The couple became ardent spinal-cord injury activists and Reeve lent his name to the Christopher Reeve Foundation, the Short Hills, N.J.-based organization devoted to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders. Following his death in 2004, Dana Reeve became its chair.
"On behalf of the entire board of directors and staff of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, we are extremely saddened by the death of Dana Reeve, whose grace and courage under the most difficult of circumstances was a source of comfort and inspiration to all of us," foundation president and CEO Kathy Lewis said in a statement. "The foundation extends our deepest condolences and sympathy to the entire Reeve and Morosini families.
"Dana will always be remembered for her passion, strength and ceaseless courage that became her hallmark. Along with her husband, Christopher, she faced adversity with grace and determination, bringing hope to millions around the world."
The cruel irony of a Superman made virtually immobile was compounded when Dana Reeve, who didn't smoke, disclosed she had lung cancer in August, 10 months after her husband's death. But, in public at least, Reeve approached her illness with steely resolve.
"I learned a long time ago that life just isn't fair, so you have to stop expecting it to be," she said during a November foundation fundraiser in New York.
"I was married to a man who never gave up. It's harder than this, what he was facing every day." The family, which includes the couple's 13-year-old son, Will, and Christopher Reeve's two grown children, Matthew and Alexandra, lived in suburban Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Dana Reeve's dignity in the face of tragedy garnered her widespread respect. Scores of condolence notes have flooded onto usatoday.com praising her bravery; politicians John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi have all issued statements.
Dana Reeve, who became the face of paralysis awareness after Christopher Reeve's death, lost her battle with lung cancer late Monday, seven months after she announced her diagnosis. She was 44. (Related: Photo gallery | Share your thoughts)
<TABLE class=sidebar cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD rowSpan=2>
</TD><TD rowSpan=2>
</TD><TD class=sidebar vAlign=top width=75>Dana Reeve, who actively sought better treatments for paralysis, lost her struggle with lung cancer.</TD><TD rowSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom align=left>By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Reeve was a relatively unknown singer and actress before her Superman husband suffered near-total paralysis after a horse-riding accident in 1995. The couple became ardent spinal-cord injury activists and Reeve lent his name to the Christopher Reeve Foundation, the Short Hills, N.J.-based organization devoted to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders. Following his death in 2004, Dana Reeve became its chair."On behalf of the entire board of directors and staff of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, we are extremely saddened by the death of Dana Reeve, whose grace and courage under the most difficult of circumstances was a source of comfort and inspiration to all of us," foundation president and CEO Kathy Lewis said in a statement. "The foundation extends our deepest condolences and sympathy to the entire Reeve and Morosini families.
"Dana will always be remembered for her passion, strength and ceaseless courage that became her hallmark. Along with her husband, Christopher, she faced adversity with grace and determination, bringing hope to millions around the world."
The cruel irony of a Superman made virtually immobile was compounded when Dana Reeve, who didn't smoke, disclosed she had lung cancer in August, 10 months after her husband's death. But, in public at least, Reeve approached her illness with steely resolve.
"I learned a long time ago that life just isn't fair, so you have to stop expecting it to be," she said during a November foundation fundraiser in New York.
"I was married to a man who never gave up. It's harder than this, what he was facing every day." The family, which includes the couple's 13-year-old son, Will, and Christopher Reeve's two grown children, Matthew and Alexandra, lived in suburban Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Dana Reeve's dignity in the face of tragedy garnered her widespread respect. Scores of condolence notes have flooded onto usatoday.com praising her bravery; politicians John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi have all issued statements.
