Christopher Reeve's Wife Came Up With A Sly "Love Pact" To Save His Life After He Became Paralyzed: "I Still Love You"

In 1995, Christopher Reeve was left quadriplegic due to a horse riding accident. The terrifying event meant that the Superman star will never walk again and he lost every will to live, but thanks to his loving wife, he was able to carry on.

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The pact that saved Christopher Reeve's life

Author Christopher Anderson once came to The Early Show to share the story of a love pact between Dana and Christopher Reeve that allowed the famous actor to live for 10 more years after his injury.

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Anderson said that Reeve was desperate to end his life and begged his wife to stop his suffering. He didn't see any point in living anymore:

I don't think people realized the extent to what he was insisting on - pulling the plug. I talked to the surgeon...he told me that, 'oh, yeah he wanted to end it right then' because he didn't feel his life was worth living.' Here was a guy who got up every morning not knowing whether he was going to fly a plane, sail his yacht, or play tennis and now he can't feel and he can't move.

But Dana wasn't ready to say goodbye to the love of her life:

She said 'I still love you.' Then she made a pact with him. 'Hold on for two years, if you still feel this way two years for now we will reconsider this question.' She said that was just a sales ploy.

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This smart move on Dana Reeve's part allowed Christopher to rediscover life and find a higher purpose. He established the Christopher Reeve Foundation aimed at helping finance research to help disabled people. Reeve's philanthropy in the decade after his accident is still highly praised.

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Christopher Reeve's legacy lives on

Dana Reeve died two years after Christopher's passing in 2004. After Dana was gone, Reeve's charity was renamed into Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

The Superman star's children are carrying out his legacy till this day, and his son Will even appeared at the charity's “A Magical Evening” gala in November 2019 to talk to PEOPLE about his parents' work:

I think his legacy is never going to go away and think that is a responsibility that I feel, to carry his and my mother’s legacy on for the rest of my life and hopefully beyond that.

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We're forever grateful to Dana Reeve for saving Christopher's life.