Report: Christopher Reeve has regained some movement and sensation

<br>NEW YORK (AP) _ Christopher Reeve has regained some movement and sensation in his hands and feet, seven years after a horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. <br><br>The

Tuesday, September 10th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Christopher Reeve has regained some movement and sensation in his hands and feet, seven years after a horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

The ``Superman'' star also can breathe on his own for 90 minutes at a time, according to an article in the Sept. 23 issue of People magazine.

``To be able to feel the just lightest touch is really a gift,'' Reeve said.

The actor has received treatment for the past three years through the ``activity-based recovery program'' that his doctor, John McDonald, created. The therapy consists of electrical muscle stimulation combined with repetitive motion exercises.

The results: Reeve can move the fingers on his left hand and the toes on both feet. He can feel a pin prick on most parts of his body and can tell the difference between hot and cold, and sharp and dull.

``No one who has suffered an injury as severe as Chris', and failed to have any initial recovery, has regained the amount of motor and sensory function he has,'' said McDonald, the medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Reeve had hoped to walk again by his 50th birthday, Sept. 25. But he says he's still encouraged, even though he won't reach that goal.

``The fact is that even if your body doesn't work the way it used to, the heart and the mind and the spirit are not diminished,'' he told the magazine. ``It's as simple as that.''