Testimony of Healing October 14, 2013 Issue

Healed after a fall

Steep Weiss

In late June of 2012, my wife and I were camping in Yosemite Valley, California. While she was taking an outdoor art class, I went on a cross-country hike alone up a beautiful canyon. I intended to find a route up through cliffs to the rim of the glacial valley, then descend by another route I had been on before. I had worked years before as a national park ranger and was well trained in technical rock climbing (although I had no gear for it with me), so I felt comfortable with my plan and knew I needed to take care not to attempt an ascent above my ability level. However, I erred at one point and lost traction. One small false move came with big consequences. I tumbled down a steep, rocky slope, hitting hard against rocks along the way, and came to rest on my back about 100 feet below.

I lay immobile, not unconscious or in pain but mostly stunned, for a couple of hours, resting, assessing the situation, and praying what to do next. I had broken bones and deep cuts, and could tell the situation was serious. After several years of reliance on Christian Science for all my health needs, I already had an abiding and growing understanding that “thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender lesson is not awaiting thee,” as Mary Baker Eddy wrote in The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany (pp. 149–150).

I accessed my cellphone and sent text messages to my wife and 911 to ask for search and rescue. My wife eventually reached rangers, and I told dispatchers my location. I also telephoned a Christian Science practitioner, who immediately began treating me. That was most reassuring. A search party of three reached me just before dark. I explained to my rescuers that I was already having Christian Science treatment, and that I was in no pain as long as I did not move. They secured me in a body splint and kept me warm under a sleeping bag, staying with me throughout the chilly night. The next morning I was transported back to Yosemite Valley by helicopter, suspended at the end of a long sling-line with a ranger.

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