I was in complete shock to find out that Christopher Reeve had died. Stunned is a better word to describe my feelings. Reeve had gone beyond being poster boy for advocating improved benefits and care for people with paralysis, and was determined not to let the limitations of doctors or the status quo condemn him to a completely immobile life, where even a machine was required for him to breathe.

His recovery was nothing short of amazing. Right up until a few days ago, before he became ill, he was able to go for extended periods without a respirator. The gift of breath had been returned to him, slowly but surely. I was positive that the time would come when Reeve would say adios to that machine, and be free of it.

He had also publicly declared the unthinkable; that one day, he would walk again. I believed him, and anticipated the day that he would get up and prove victory over the status quo.

But alas, that is not meant to be. The man who helped bring paralysis out of the closet, so to speak, focus the public eye on this neglected area of medicine, and help bring to the forefront the topic of stem cell research.

Dying From a Bed Sore

It may seem confusing to some, that one can die of a bedsore. Perhaps if you’ve had a relative in a nursing home, or been laid up in bed yourself, you understand what, exactly, a bedsore is. Constant immobility, ie, sitting or lying in place for a long period of time, puts pressure on the skin., which in turn, diminishes or completely cuts off the blood supply to the skin. When the blood supply to the skin is cut off for more than two to three hours, it will begin to deteriorate and die. First the area becomes red and sore, then turns purple. Left untreated, the skin will eventually break open and become infected.

Once the skin barrier has been broken, bacteria can freely enter the inner cavity of the body–invading muscle, bones, or the bloodstream. Bedsores are often slow in healing, as they tend to occur in people who are somewhat compromised to begin with, and may not be in the best of health to begin with.

I guess I am a little surprised that Reeve had a bedsore which reached this point. Under the best of circumstances, you can still get them, but considering the care he was getting, it is hard to believe that no one noticed this bedsore as it began to blossom and grow. A full blown bedsore can be prevented, and again, that no one noticed an angry red spot forming on Reeve’s skin is a little difficult to comprehend.

Bloodstream infections have high mortality rates, and while I don’t know what type of bacteria he had growing in his bedsore, I imagine that it may well have been Staphylococcus aureus, which is one of the most common types of bacteria to cause skin infections. Staph can be completely harmless while it’s just hanging around on unbroken skin, but once it gets inside your body, it can be a devil to treat. It can be quite virulent, and many strains are multidrug resistant.

Anyway, this wasn’t meant to blame any of the people who helped Reeve take care of himself. Just an observation, that’s all. And just a farewell to a courageous and inspirational man, whose work, I hope, will continue.