G.P. Williams
Williams, a government employee, previously worked for The Oregonian/OregonLive.
On a recent Tuesday, just after 12:30 p.m., I was enjoying my daily three-mile walk-and-jog near downtown Portland along the river. It was sunny that day, and I smiled at the other runners, walkers and cyclists on the Eastbank Esplanade.
I am 56, but I felt like a teenager. During the past few years, I worked hard to get fit, and I came to truly love exercising. I put in six to eight miles every day, plus occasional long hikes and other activity.
Since 1988, when I began working downtown, I have freely walked throughout downtown, Old Town and over to Northwest Portland. I felt safe. Even after the pandemic turned downtown into a ghost town, and the months of rioting exacerbated an unsafe atmosphere, I continued to exercise daily in Waterfront Park and along the Eastbank Esplanade. To counteract the destruction and negativity, I wore “propaganda” shirts with peace signs and messages like “LOVE” and “Have A Nice Day” written over a smiley face.
That Tuesday didn’t seem any different. I had crossed the Steel Bridge and turned onto the esplanade when I noticed a young woman walking quickly in the other direction.
Suddenly, I found myself crashing to the ground.
That young woman had circled back behind me and pushed me to the ground so hard that my femur broke, detaching from my hip. A cyclist saw her push me and stopped to help. While he was on the phone to 9-1-1, other cyclists, walkers and runners stopped to offer assistance.
The pain was off-the-charts. I screamed in agony as the paramedics moved me to the ambulance and all the way to Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. It took a spinal block to bring the pain level down after fentanyl proved insufficient.
The next day, I underwent surgery to reattach my femur to my hip with a titanium screw. A rod and two more screws help keep everything in place.
I was hospitalized for six days and spent another 15 in the care of a superhero friend. I will need to use a walker for another two weeks, then progress to a cane. I am doing physical therapy and upper body strengthening exercises every day. It will take six to 18 months to fully regain my strength and fitness.
I have suffered physical pain and discomfort, emotional trauma, and general upheaval to my life. And so many others have been affected: my 87-year-old mother who I used to help on a near daily basis; my son, brothers, friends and coworkers – many of whom are now afraid to go outside.
I have been saddened and angered by the destruction of downtown Portland over the past two years. Downtown Portland used to be a beautiful, friendly, vibrant place. But the pandemic, spread of homelessness and last year’s rioting have turned it into a disaster zone of boarded-up businesses, garbage, tents, graffiti and dangerous people on the streets. And the city seems to have given up.
Despite my experience, I still believe in positivity and creativity, not negativity and destruction. I have been extraordinarily blessed by an outpouring of love and support from friends, coworkers, neighbors, family, health care workers and even strangers. It will take months for me to fully recover, but I will do it with their help.
Portland: You can do it, too. If leaders and residents come together in a spirit of cooperation and positivity, you can revive Portland and return it to the safe and lovely city it once was.
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October 31, 2021 at 08:00PM
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