Today's Care. Tomorrow's Cure. (The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation)

I can recall reading about Christopher Reeve's unfortunate accident shortly after it happened, and no longer thinking of him as an actor or a celebrity but instead as someone's son, husband and father. It made me think of when my own father had passed away, and friends and relatives came from far and wide to comfort our family in its time of sorrow. The flurry of activity leading up to and including the day of the funeral barely gave us enough time to reflect on our loss. And then the day after the funeral, when everyone inevitably returned to their everyday lives, I remember the void of loneliness that echoed through what was now a home with one of its most important members no longer there. I think that perhaps this was one of the loneliest times of my life. How much greater is that same loneliness for a celebrity or public figure whose heartbreak is followed by a vast world of strangers who themselves must also return to everyday living, and the next biggest headlines that capture the collective consciousness. It is precisely at that moment that a tremendous level of courage, determination and faith is required to move beyond the circumstances to ascend the stairs of misfortune to a greater life. To me personally, this is what the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation represents . . . the ascension to a greater life of possibilities and hope. In today's program we welcome Kelly Heneghan, Sandra Kumorowski from the Chicago Chapter of the Foundation, and Jon O'Connor who is the Founder and Director of NextSteps Chicago to talk about the services and the near horizon breakthroughs that the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is championing through its many programs and events.