[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2731-2733]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          DEATH OF DANA REEVE

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I awakened this morning to some very, very 
sad news: the death of Dana Reeve last night at the age of 44. With her 
death, I lost a dear friend and our American family lost a very, very 
special member of our family.
  The world will remember Dana in many ways--as a fine actress, as a 
tireless advocate for spinal cord and embryonic stem cell research, and 
as the wife who stood by her husband through incredible adversity. I 
will remember her as a person of extraordinary grace and decency, 
always thinking of others, passionately committed to making a 
difference in the world.
  Over the years, I was privileged to get to know and to work with both 
Dana and Christopher Reeve. Whoever coined the phrase that ``life is 
unfair'' must have had the Reeve family in mind. But these two people 
faced adversity with unflinching courage.
  They taught us the most valuable of lessons. Christopher taught us 
how to transcend suffering and to live life to its fullest and to make 
every moment count. Dana taught us about the true meaning of love and 
commitment and loyalty.
  Together, Dana and Christopher Reeve expanded access to new 
treatments and therapies for countless thousands of paralyzed 
Americans. Through their Christopher Reeve Foundation, they were 
tireless advocates for medical research.
  Dana Reeve was also a superb politician, and I mean that in the best 
sense of the word. She knew exactly which committees to target, which 
levers to

[[Page 2732]]

pull, which elected officials to cultivate and pressure and plead with. 
She also knew how to go over the heads of certain political leaders who 
got in her way, by taking her case directly to the American people. 
That is how Dana--and Chris, too--did so much to put embryonic stem 
cell research front and center on the national agenda. That is how she 
rallied support for spinal cord research.
  But Dana spoke up passionately for all people living with 
disabilities. She spoke up for Parkinson's and ALS research. She 
advocated for more generous funding for the National Institutes of 
Health. Of course, she wanted a cure for her husband, but she fought 
for a cure for others as well, including all those children whom she 
and Chris met with spinal cord injuries. And, my friends, so must we. 
We must fight also. Dana continued full speed ahead because of her 
drive and determination, because of the incredible work of all the 
dedicated people at the Christopher Reeve Foundation. And now Dana's 
work must continue full speed ahead because of our commitment and 
determination.
  We must continue because we have an unfinished agenda. As long as 
misguided leaders deny our best scientists access to embryonic stem 
cells, we have an unfinished agenda. As long as people with 
disabilities are forced to live in nursing homes because Medicaid will 
not cover home care, we have an unfinished agenda. As long as there is 
hope for a cure to spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's, ALS, and other 
diseases, we have an unfinished agenda.
  If we have just half of the commitment and tenacity and courage that 
Dana Reeve and her husband had, then we will complete this agenda.
  Helen Keller, who knew plenty about adversity and disability, said 
something that applies very much to Dana Reeve in her last months. 
``Life,'' said Helen Keller, ``is either a daring adventure, or 
nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits 
in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.''
  That is the Dana Reeve I will always remember and cherish. Even when 
her husband was gravely injured and then taken from her, even a few 
months after that when she was cruelly stricken with lung cancer--a 
person who had never smoked in her entire life--she never gave up her 
fight for a better world and a better future for other people, 
especially those struggling with disabilities.
  Dana Reeve was an extraordinary person, a passionate advocate, a 
wonderful mother, a loyal, committed, loving wife. As I said, she has 
taught us a lot about what commitment really means. We are grateful to 
God for the many gifts she shared with the world. We are grateful for 
all she has done to enrich our lives and to instruct us in how to live. 
Today, we grieve her passing.
  May she rest in peace, and may her work continue.
  Just on behalf of the Harkin family, Ruth and I and our children send 
our condolences to Will and to all the other members of the Reeve 
family. May they know we are going to continue the work. Through the 
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, we will find a cure for 
paralysis and spinal cord injuries. We cannot afford to give up. Dana 
Reeve never gave up. We cannot afford to either.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today we heard the sad news of the death of 
Dana Reeve. My wife Marcelle and I got to know, first, Christopher 
Reeve, who often traveled to Vermont. We met with him there, did things 
with him there, and with members of his family; and then, subsequently 
through Chris, with Dana Reeve. We know they had only been married for 
3 short years when Christopher Reeve had a terrible accident which left 
him paralyzed from the neck down.
  Like so many of the friends of both of them, we saw how Dana kept by 
his side. They raised their young son, she encouraging Chris at every 
step along the way.
  It was my privilege to see and be with the two of them many times 
throughout that, as she helped him with his foundation, to help those 
with spinal cord injuries. And I heard him say so many times he could 
not have possibly done this without her steadfast help.
  She said at one point that she learned that life does not take the 
turns you might think it would but that she would continue to stay with 
Chris and help him.
  I remember when the sad time came for the end of his life, and the 
funeral and the eulogies and discussions that I had with her after 
that, and her commitment to go forward to help with the foundation and 
to raise their son.
  Then, with the stunning news just a few months ago that she had lung 
cancer, in typical fashion, she said she felt she could beat that and 
would do--she had the best doctors--all the steps possible. Then in the 
last few days she got more and more ill. And, of course, today we 
received the news she had died.
  I think of her talking about her years at Middlebury College in 
Vermont, going to Vermont with Chris--the two of them giving us so 
much.
  A devoted wife and mother, a talented singer and actress, a 
determined and dedicated activist, Dana Reeve was the embodiment of 
grace and courage in the face of so many staggering challenges.
  A graduate of Vermont's Middlebury College, Dana pursued both acting 
and singing, appearing on television programs, on Broadway, and on 
other stages across the country. When she married Christopher Reeve, a 
dear friend of so many of us across this land, she could not know what 
direction her life would take.
  I first met Chris in the 1980s and had the good fortune of spending 
time with him in my home State of Vermont. Over the years, Marcelle and 
I came to count Chris among our friends. I am privileged to say that 
Dana became a dear friend of ours as well.
  When tragedy struck Chris and Dana's lives in 1995, just 3 short 
years after their marriage, Dana's love and courage became the focal 
point of so many stories. Left a quadriplegic in a tragic equestrian 
accident, Chris repeatedly credited Dana's constant care, 
companionship, and love with bringing him out of shadowy sadness he 
felt in the first months after the accident. Together they opened the 
Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, designed to teach 
paralyzed people to live more independently. They also chaired the 
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, which provides funds for 
research on paralysis.
  When Chris died in 2004, Dana--her courage never wavering--assumed 
the foundation's chairmanship, and she came to the Halls of Congress to 
make the case for easing the restrictions on stem cell research. Her 
unrelenting efforts to improve the quality of life for sufferers of 
paralysis have led to the distribution of more than $8 million in grant 
funding to support programs designed to improve the daily lives of 
paralyzed people. Despite being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005, 
Dana continued her advocacy efforts. In 2005, the American Cancer 
Society named her Mother of the Year.
  Both Chris and Dana instilled in so many a hope and inspiration that 
can only come from conquering adversity. Their generous, vibrant, and 
compassionate souls have touched an entire nation. Their young son Will 
will no doubt look to that strength as he continues through life. Two 
years ago, I mourned the loss of my friend, Chris Reeve. Today, I join 
so many in mourning the loss of Dana, his inspiration, and ours as 
well.
  It is sad when two good people like this are taken so early. I know I 
speak for so many tens of thousands of their friends not just around 
this country but around the world.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a remarkable 
woman who has shown Americans what courage is all about. That woman is 
Dana Reeve.
  I knew Dana as a smiling, beautiful woman standing behind Christopher 
Reeve's wheelchair, accompanying him to DC to testify in support of 
advancing stem cell research. Since Chris's death, Dana was the face of 
this fight

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on behalf of patients across the country with spinal cord injury, 
Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes and countless other illnesses.
  I thought that after everything Dana had gone through with Chris that 
she would have time to smell the flowers and be in the sun. But 
apparently that was not meant to be.
  My heart goes out to Dana and Chris's son William, Dana's 
stepchildren Matthew and Alexandra, and the entire Reeve and Morosini 
families during what is and has been a very difficult time.
  Dana was the picture of steadfast loyalty and compassionate care. She 
and Chris taught us all that life is short and that we should all have 
the courage and hope to ``go forward.''
  Dana carried that spirit with her in her drive to push Congress to 
expand embryonic stem cell research and to expand access to new 
treatments and therapies for thousands of Americans with spinal cord 
injuries.
  Dana was an activist, actress, singer, motivational speaker and 
published author. Dana was a founding board member of the Christopher 
Reeve Foundation and succeeded her late husband as chairperson in 2004. 
She created and led the Foundation's Quality of Life initiatives.
  She received numerous awards for her work, most notably the Shining 
Example Award from Proctor & Gamble in 1998, an American Image Award 
from the AAFA in 2003, and the American Cancer Society named her Mother 
of the Year in 2005.
  Dana, the person, was a tireless advocate for people with spinal cord 
injuries. For me personally, she and Chris will forever be the shining 
lights in the great national debate for advancing medical research.
  It is with sadness that I stand before this body, more than 9 months 
after the historic vote in the House to expand Federally funded 
embryonic stem cell research, and still there has been no vote in the 
Senate.
  With each day that passes the research that could one day lead to 
cures and treatments for millions of Americans with deadly and 
debilitating diseases is being held up.
  It is incomprehensible to me that we have a bill, which has already 
passed the House, that may help millions of Americans but instead is 
just sitting, languishing in the Senate despite some overtures or 
promises that it would be taken up by this body.
  It is time for the Senate to do exactly what the House did. It is 
time for the Senate to take up and pass the Stem Cell Research 
Enhancement Act, the Castle-DeGette bill, with no amendments and no 
alternatives. I believe we have the votes to pass this bill today and 
send it to the President.
  I want to take a moment to acknowledge Dana's last struggle, her 
battle against cancer. This terrible disease is a very personal one for 
me. I have lost many loved ones to it. The elimination of death and 
suffering due to cancer has been one of my highest priorities since 
coming to the Senate.
  Dana died of lung cancer and, as many of you have read in the papers, 
Dana was a non-smoker. I believe she had stage one metastatic lung 
cancer. In fact, over 60 percent of new lung cancers are diagnosed in 
people who never smoked or who managed to quit smoking even decades 
ago.
  While cigarette smoking is by far the most important risk factor for 
lung cancer, many other factors play a role.
  Lung cancer remains the deadliest form of cancer. In 2006, it will 
account for more than 162,000 cancer deaths, or about 29 percent of all 
cancer deaths. Since 1987, more women have died each year of lung 
cancer than from breast cancer.
  Screening for lung cancer is years behind screening for other 
cancers, which means that when it is diagnosed, the disease is often 
already in its late stages, which is what I suspect happened to Dana 
Reeve.
  The 5-year survival rate for all stages of lung cancer is only 15 
percent. Compare this to the overall 5-year survival rate of 65 percent 
for all cancers diagnosed between 1995 and 2001.
  Clearly we can and must do better. Increased NIH research for lung 
cancer is essential and we must press for better screening tools for 
lung cancer. I plan to address both of these issues in comprehensive 
cancer legislation I plan to introduce shortly.
  In closing, it is my sincere hope that the love Dana and Chris shared 
for each other will reunite them wherever their journeys take them from 
here. Dana left us far too soon--in her mid-40s--but she left us with 
her fighting spirit and the will to push forward so that one day we may 
find treatments and cures for those living with spinal cord injuries 
and other disabling conditions.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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