Christopher Reeve’s Children Share His Journey To Jerusalem

 
 

FIRST PUBLISHED: November 9, 2007 3:17 PM EST
LAST UPDATED: November 13, 2007 4:36 PM EST

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

After chronicling the day-to-day struggle that Christopher Reeve endured to keep his body alive, Access Hollywood now shares images of Christopher’s emotional journey to Jerusalem, thanks to his oldest son Matthew and daughter Alexandra, who also revealed how their brother, 15-year-old Will, is getting on without the physical presence of his dad and mom.

“He is a tremendous kid. A spirit that just blows me away. How’s he doing?” Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush asked Alexandra.

“He’s doing great. He’s living with a wonderful family. We see him all the time and he too is excited about the work that the foundation is doing and carrying on the work with spinal cord injury,” she said.

News that Will is living with family friends and that he is doing well is no surprise. Passionate about his dad’s favorite sport — hockey, Will, who wore number 4, was a model of courage and strength when Billy visited him just four months after losing his dad.

“Your mom told me your dad used to sit right there,” Billy told Will at the time.

“Yeah, just right in that corner, right there. And he used to watch and whenever I’d skate by him, I’d see him smiling and [he’d give me] what would be a thumbs up,” Will said.

As we watched his proud mom, Dana, cheer him on, we could never have imagined that a year later, she too would be gone.

“Dana never smoked, had lung cancer and 17-months after Christopher, she passes away,” Billy said.

“I think anyone who goes through a devastating loss, you have to focus on the time times you had and be grateful for them and move forward,” Matthew told Billy in our most recent interview.”

As previously reported on Access Hollywood, Matthew followed his dad’s struggle with paralysis in the documentary “Hope In Motion,” which was just released on DVD. But along with hardships, there were lighter moments.

As they traveled to New York City, Christopher got a kick out of Dana’s a cappella. Despite the atmosphere, they weren’t just there for laughs.

“We’re going to the launch of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Center,” Dana said on camera.

“I negotiated top billing,” Christopher joked back.

“He gets top billing, but I do all the work,” Dana joked.

Perhaps though, the emotional peak for Matthew came on a trip with his dad to Jerusalem and their visit to the Western Wall.

“He hands you a prayer that he’s written on a piece of paper, or someone’s written for him. You put it in a little crevice in the wall. What did that prayer say?” Billy asked Matthew.

“That’s not really to share,” Matthew said. “It was a beautiful, private moment, one I will always remember and cherish, but that moment definitely stood out on that trip in particular.”

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