UPDATE on my cancer. I'm pleased to have this news for you and apologize for its length.

I took this photo on Memorial Day as I walked the path to the Benson Bridge at Multnomah Falls, on a quest to celebrate my new-found-self by making a steadfast effort to overcome my fear of heights. I had to get in enough steps to burn off those pancakes that I had for breakfast and knew that walking circles in the crowd of people trying to see the falls from that viewpoint wouldn’t cut it. The only way to get those steps was to take the two-tenths-of-a-mile paved path through the woods, switchbacks and all.

The photo illustrates how I see my life today. There on the right is a bridge, a pathway, that has been somewhat blocked--that's what my life was like while undergoing two surgeries, six rounds of chemo, and 28 radiation treatments with the fear of not getting rid of the cancer hanging over my head. I had a visible path in my life, but it was blocked by the cancer. Those medical procedures I listed opened up the block by doing away with the cancer in my body. Now I see my life as that wide-open bridge, a pathway, that you see on the left. I'm on my way to my future, one step at a time, one correct bite of food at a time, one sip of life-giving water at a time, one round of laughter mixed with smiles at a time, one out-and-about enjoying life at a time, one realization how much God loves me at a time, one heart full of joy at a time because my sons are so close by, and one warm feeling when I think of so many folks who love and care about me.

Monday morning I had an appointment with my oncology surgeon. She was pleased about my CT scan from May 2 with no abnormalities; pleased with my exercise, weight loss, and eating right efforts; pleased with my attitude and outlook; pleased that I had used my new-found-self in overcoming my fear of heights. She said something along the lines of what we hope for each of our patients is that they come to a point where they realize they’ve looked their mortality in the eye and have gone on to regain joy in their lives. She told me she knows that I’ve done that, a sweet smile all over her face.

I myself am pleased that she said she'd see me in three months, no CT scan scheduled prior to that appointment. The only thing I have to watch for is any change in my health, such as increasing fatigue. She knows that my level of fatigue will continue to fluctuate for some time to come, but if I go downhill, I'm to contact her then, not wait for the three-months-off appointment.

I don’t believe I’ll have to call ahead. I told her that over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, I went for a late evening walk on the Sunday, came in and sat down in the recliner, not out of breath, not tired, and this thought popped into my head: I feel younger. Shocked, I let myself say it out loud: I feel younger. Then I told her that I’d not mentioned this to anyone else, that I’d saved it to share with her. She smiled again. When Lamont came back into the exam room, I shared it with him and we all three smiled. Now I’m sharing it with y’all and know in my heart that as you read this, you’re smiling, too.

I'm pleased to be able to report this to y'all and to say again, thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.

Multnomah Falls, from my eyes through my camera to y'all

This photo gives you an idea of the depth the water has dug out of the side of the bowl into which the upper falls flow magnificently. The water you see here falls 69 feet into a lower pool. Found on the Internet: Multnomah Falls is the most visited recreation site in the Pacific Northwest with 2 million stopping each year to take in the views! It features the 2nd highest waterfall in the United States. The waterfall formed as result of the Missoula Floods. The falls drops in two major steps, split into an upper falls of 542 feet (165 m) and a lower falls of 69 feet (21 m), with a gradual 9 foot (3 m) drop in elevation between the two, so the total height of the waterfall is conventionally given as 620 feet (189 m). The two drops are due to a zone of more easily eroded basalt at base of the upper falls.



I tried to get creative here. Not so certain of the outcome. These people are a drop in the bucket, really, compared to the numbers of folks there on Memorial Day. Found on the Internet: Underground springs from Larch Mountain are the year-round source of water for the waterfall, augmented by spring runoff from the mountain's snowpack and rainwater during the other seasons. The flow over the falls varies, usually it's highest during winter and spring. Multnomah Falls offers one of the best places in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area to study geology exposed by floods. Five flows of Yakima basalt are visible in the falls' cliff face.



This is the Benson Bridge which is up a paved path, complete with a few potholes but actually in very good shape when you think about nearly two million visitors each year (of course, they don't all walk up to the Benson Bridge), two tenths of a mile long. Pay close attention to where the man in the turquoise T-shirt stands, his back turned to the camera. Found on the Internet: A foot trail leads to Benson Footbridge, a 45-foot (14 m)-long footbridge that allows visitors to cross 105 feet (32 m) above the lower cascade. The footbridge is named for Simon Benson, who in 1914 financed Italian stonemasons to construct the bridge and was a prominent Portland businessman who owned the falls in the early part of the 1900s. Before his death, Benson gave Multnomah Falls to the City of Portland, which later transferred ownership to the USDA Forest Service. The Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company gave Portland land at the base of Multnomah Falls contingent upon their agreement to build a lodge at the site. A few years later architect A.E. Doyle, who designed the Meier & Frank Building (in Portland, a real beauty to this day), was commissioned by the city to design the lodge, which was completed in 1925. The lodge is now on the National Register of Historic Places.



My feet, which I trusted, along with my legs and my brain, to make an effort to walk up to and out onto the Benson Bridge, for the first time. I made it! Considering the skin-heart-beat-breathing changes that come across my body due to my extreme fear of heights, I'm still in shock that I did it, over two full days later! Found on the Internet: Standing on the bridge you have a perfect view of the top tier's full 542-foot height and a knee-wobbling vantage point over the second tier's 69-foot drop! Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon. It is credited by a sign at the site of the falls, and by the United States Forest Service, as the second tallest year-round waterfall in the United States. However, there is some skepticism surrounding this distinction, as Multnomah Falls is listed as the 137th tallest waterfall in the United States by the World Waterfall Database (this site does not distinguish between seasonal and year-round waterfalls).



I stopped as I got close, to catch my breath, to reign in my excitement. No point in going out there trembling. It worked. I felt steady and proud and tickled and couldn't wait to find out what my friend Milton thought about it all. I called him and told him I was standing approximately where he had stood on the bridge when he and his wife Kay had come from Mississippi in August, 2011, to help sprinkle Mama's ashes. He was proud for me, too! I called my brother Howard after I got down to the parking lot--he's was proud, too. And later Monday, I talked with Lamont about it, Tuesday with Leland about it. They both were excited and proud.



Here's Milton, videoing the surroundings on August 25, 2011, from the Benson Bridge.



Here's the wide shot of Milton on the bridge. You can see how I made it almost to the same spot. I stood to the right of that wider part of the concrete railing, he stood to the left. Whoopee! Oh, and isn't it amazing that no one else is on the bridge! We went on a weekday, pretty early if my memory serves me. Yep, I just checked, 9:46 a.m.



Seeing something like this makes you realize why water falls roar. Look how many streams are landing in their own time. Amazing!



I managed to use the tilt screen on my camera so that I could sort of look down on the side of the bridge nearest the upper falls and take this photo. It didn't scare me too much because it's not much of a drop. How insane is that? Look how fast that water's going over the drop on its way 69 feet to the bottom pool.



Here's that same spot, taken from the viewing area down below with the zoom lens. Massive amount of water flowing so beautifully and loudly.



I stood on the bridge about where the man in the turquoise T-shirt stood, looking north instead of south. This is a screen shot of the video I made. I couldn't make myself look straight down, I was not holding my iPhone out over the edge of the bridge, I was afraid to get my regular camera out of the bag because I don't have it on a neck strap. I did manage to get it out of the bag when I cross the bridge to take the photos of the upper falls landing in the upper pool.



I tried to zoom in and get a decent photo of the top of the falls, but, with the sun shining brightly into my face, I had little success.



Here's another photo that I took on August 25, 2011, of the Multnomah Lodge where this past Monday, Memorial Day, I ate that scrumptious breakfast that I posted yesterday.



Finally, a photo that gets Multnomah Falls in one shot. I took this one on August 25, 2011, too. There was no way to get one last Monday--too many people for me to stay out of the way of and I'm still learning how to use my new camera.

I don't know if you can copy and past this or not, but if you can, you'll get to see a few photos taken on our second visit to Multnomah Falls, me and Mama. We've got out beloved friend Casey with us--I think that's her first visit there. (I was able to copy and paste and get to the right post on what used to be my other blog. I couldn't figure out how to copy the link and make it actively work, that's why I did it this way.) Mama and I had gone in 2004 with Lamont and Leland's friends Leslie and Chris. What a treat it is every time to visit this magnificent site. http://mamamepdx.blogspot.com/2006/08/to-gorge-to-see-falls.html

Come back tomorrow for a few other beautiful sights I got to see at Multnomah Falls.