Editing Christopher Reeve (section)

===Hospitalization===
After five days in which Reeve was heavily medicated and [[delirium|delirious]], he regained full consciousness. His doctor explained to him his first and second cervical vertebrae had been [[Atlanto-occipital dislocation|destroyed]] and his spinal cord damaged.<ref>Reeve, Christopher (1998), pp. 27–30</ref> He was [[paralysis|paralyzed]] from the neck down and unable to breathe without a [[ventilator]].

Reeve's first thoughts when informed about the seriousness of his injury was he had ruined his life, would be a burden on his family, and it might be best to "slip away". He mouthed to his wife Dana, "Maybe we should let me go." She tearfully replied, "I will support whatever you want to do, because this is your life and your decision. But I want you to know that I'll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You're still you. And I love you."<ref name="Reeve32">Reeve, Christopher (1998), p. 32</ref> In what she would later describe as a "sales ploy", she also told him that if he still wanted to die in two years they could reconsider the question.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Love Pact That Saved Christopher Reeve|date=July 7, 2008 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-love-pact-that-saved-christopher-reeve/|access-date=November 15, 2020|publisher=CBS News}}</ref>

After this conversation, and visits from his children in which he saw how much they needed him, Reeve consented to lifesaving surgery and treatment for [[pneumonia]].<ref>Reeve, Christopher (2002), p. 10</ref> He never considered [[euthanasia]] as an option again.<ref name="Reeve32"/><ref name="TWP">{{Cite news|last=Crews|first=Chip|date=May 3, 1998|title=The Role He Can't Escape|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/reeve.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104053843/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/reeve.htm|archive-date=January 4, 2020|access-date=November 20, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

Reeve went through inner anguish in the [[Intensive care unit|ICU]], particularly when he was alone during the night. His upcoming operation to stabilize his spine in June 1995 "was frightening to contemplate.&nbsp;... I already knew that I had only a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the surgery.&nbsp;... Then, at an especially bleak moment, the door flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, speaking in a Russian accent. He announced that he was my [[proctologist]], and that he had to examine me immediately." It was Williams, reprising his character from the film ''[[Nine Months]]''. "For the first time since the accident, I laughed. My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay."<ref>Reeve, Christopher (1998), p. 36</ref>{{refn|group=note|After Reeve's accident, some media outlets published a story about a college pact in which the two vowed to take care of each other. Both Reeve and Williams said the story was untrue.<ref>{{cite video |date=February 13, 1996 |people=Winfrey, Oprah (host) |title=The Prank Robin Williams Pulled to Cheer Up Christopher Reeve |type=Talk show |language=en |url=https://www.oprah.com/own-oprahshow/the-prank-robin-williams-pulled-to-cheer-up-christopher-reeve |location=United States |publisher=Oprah Winfrey Network}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=December 25, 1996 |title=CNN Larry King Weekend |url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/lklw/date/2002-02-23/segment/00 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114100824/https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/lklw/date/2002-02-23/segment/00 |archive-date=January 14, 2025 |access-date=December 21, 2024 |website=CNN}}</ref> Williams also denied reports that he was paying Reeve's medical bills: "I've done some things, but [the press] made it seem like I'm footing all the bills."<ref>{{cite video |people=O'Dell, Nancy (host) |date=August 16, 2014 |title=Tribute to Robin Williams |type=News magazine |language=en |location=United States |publisher=Entertainment Tonight}}</ref>}} In addition to visits from friends and family, Reeve received over 400,000 letters from all over the world, which gave him great comfort during his recovery.<ref>{{cite web |last=Beyette |first=Beverly |date=December 8, 1999 |title=For Superman, Letters of Hope |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-08-cl-41547-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113060716/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-08-cl-41547-story.html |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |access-date=November 12, 2024 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|In 1999, Dana published about 200 selected letters, with the permission of their authors, in her book, ''Care Packages: Letters to Christopher Reeve from Strangers and Other Friends''. {{ISBN|0-375-50076-6}}.}}

[[John A. Jane]] performed surgery to repair Reeve's neck [[vertebra]]e. He put wires underneath both [[Vertebra#Structure|laminae]] and used bone from Reeve's hip to fit between the C1 and C2 vertebrae. He inserted a [[Titanium biocompatibility|titanium pin]] and fused the wires with the vertebrae, then drilled holes in Reeve's skull and fitted the wires through to secure the skull to the [[spinal column]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Suplee |first=Curt |date=June 6, 1995 |title=Reeve Undergoes Surgery to Prevent Further Injury |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/06/06/reeve-undergoes-surgery-to-prevent-further-injury/8eb8a926-cb17-41af-88f2-09cb8a9cdfc1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250112080906/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/06/06/reeve-undergoes-surgery-to-prevent-further-injury/8eb8a926-cb17-41af-88f2-09cb8a9cdfc1/ |archive-date=January 12, 2025 |access-date=November 12, 2024 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> To access the cord, the surgeon had to cut a [[tendon]] on the right side of Reeve's neck, which became shorter and less flexible as a result, causing his head to tilt slightly to the right.<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite web |last=Bedell |first=Geraldine |date=February 9, 2003 |title=You'll believe a man can walk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/feb/09/features.review1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219010558/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/feb/09/features.review1 |archive-date=December 19, 2024 |access-date=December 4, 2024 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>