Christopher Reeve's children are recalling the painful details of their dad's life-changing 1995 accident.
The late Superman actor was left paralyzed and ventilator-dependent in 1995 after suffering from a fall during a horseback riding competition, and later died of heart failure aged 52 in 2004.
He is survived by his three children, Matthew, 44, and Alexandra, 40, who he shared with his ex Gae Exton, and Will, 32, who he shared with wife Dana Reeve — who passed away less than two years after her husband's death — and the three have come together to honor their father with the documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.
Ahead of the new film's release in theaters, Matthew, Alexandra and Will stopped by The Kelly Clarkson Show, and opened up about what they remember of their dad's accident.
Matthew first explained how his dad initially got into horseback riding ten years before his accident, when he learned to ride horses for his role in 1985's Anna Karenina. "He never really rode horses because he was always allergic, but he used to inject himself with really strong antihistamines everyday and he would go out and film these scenes with the Hungarian national equestrian team," he explained.
"He fell in love with the sport and he fell in love with the activity so riding became a huge part of his life and our family's life, and it got to the point where he liked to compete. He was a competitive guy," Matthew added.
© GettyHe went on to recall how the accident took place during a cross country course in Virginia, when the horse stopped before a jump, making Chistopher lunge forward, "and his hands got caught in the bridle which meant he couldn't break his fall and so he landed right on his head."
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"What's interesting is that a little bit to the left and he would've died, a little bit to the right and he would have walked himself away. It was just a very specific injury," he noted.
© GettyWill, who was less than two weeks away from celebrating his third birthday when the accident happened, shared that though he doesn't remember much about the day itself, "the story goes that my mom and I were packing up our hotel room, dad went off to go ride in his competition and when he was done we were all going to get back together and head off on the next adventure, and my mom gets the call."
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© Getty Images"She's beside herself, and doesn't know anything, she's trying to get information but she is also trying to keep her little two-year-old happy and not scared," he said, before revealing: "She went out and kicked a soccer ball with me in the yard of the hotel after hearing the news that he was maybe dead, certainly being medevaced."
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© GettyWill, who today is a correspondent for Good Morning America, emphasized: "That speaks to the strength of my mom, it's apparent there and it has been apparent in all of our lives forever, how strong and composed and determined she was to put the family first, to put me first in that situation."
The siblings lastly noted that just 11 days later, even as they adjusted to how Christopher's and their lives changed instantly, they all gathered to celebrate Will's third birthday.
