Dana Reeve recalls Superman's final evening
Christopher Reeve spent his final evening cheering on presidential hopeful John Kerry, his beloved baseball team the New York Yankees and eating his favourite meal.
The Superman star's widow, Dana, has recalled her late husband's final hours in a letter sent to family, friends and fans, insisting the actor had a perfect send-off.
She writes: "On Saturday, October 9, Chris spent his last day of consciousness doing what he loved to do.
"He left a long phone message for Senator John Kerry lending his support and encouragement.
"He and I spent the early evening on the phone and then he watched the Yankee game with (his son) Will and gobbled up one of his favourite meals, turkey tettrazini."
In the letter, Dana, who dashed back from California where she was starring in a play to be by her husband's bedside, admits she's upset that Reeve died so young, at 52, but she's happy she and the rest of the actor's family had nine years of "lessons learned".
She adds: "Late that night, weakened by infection and the barrage of maladies which can accompany paralysis, his body failed him.
"At only 52, it was far too soon. There was much he still wanted to accomplish.
"There was much his children had yet to learn from him. It is completely unfair, but life can be that way.
"These nine and a half years for our family have been blessed with joy, laughter, and lessons learned."
Reeve was left paralysed from the neck down after a horse riding accident a decade ago. He died of heart failure on October 10 at the Northern Westchester Hospital near his home in Bedford, New York, a day after falling into a coma.
About 900 people are expected to attend a private memorial service next week at the Julliard School in New York where Reeve once studied.
