He accomplished something quite proufound......he didn't give up in the face of something that pretty much was a death sentence.  He didn't stop trying to find a way to get better, he just plain didn't give up.

How many people do you know give up over small things and think its justifiable???  

This is where it gets to be more spiritual than material because frankly, to be a person who represents some kind of hope or symbol of courage to others doesn't mean you win a Noble Peace Prize or you are the President of the United States, it means you touch them in a way that nobody else can and have some good effect on their feelings and behaviors.  I believe Christopher Reeve did that.  There are many paraplegics out there who looked at him as a source of courage and a symbol for not giving up and giving in.  

We have become a nation of people who think you have to have some grand plan or glorious lifestyle to be something or somebody important.  That isn't the case.  I would have thought Mother Therese showed that in her lifetime quite well.

I knew about this when Reeve had his accident (here in Va by the way) and thought how lucky to have a freind like Robin Williams to make you laugh in the face of something so painful.  It took guts on both mens part to deal with it in their own unique way.