The Bible is the most powerful book in existence. In Ephesians 2:1, it reads "as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."
Faith. Forgiveness. Compassion. These are all words that can lift up and inspire those as they walk through their journey of recovery. The Road Less Traveled program is the newest chance for a bright future that is available at The Treatment Center.
Psalm 116 says, "I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord. The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me."
The Road Less Traveled program encourages faith and recovery to walk hand in hand. Honesty comes with pain and joy is tempered with sorrow.
The first thing Scott Giorgio wants you to know is that he is not a patient at The Treatment Center for drug or alcohol addiction. Giorgio’s problem is one of chronic pain management, stemming from his years of painful back surgeries.
Last August, Giorgio had his first spinal surgery. To his disappointment, his spine is worse than before the surgery, and as a result, Giorgio is in a wheelchair for much of the day.
"My goal is to walk out of here," said Giorgio.
The married father of two is testament to what the power of prayer can do for chronic pain. After years of chronic pain, Giorgio finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel. But it has not been an easy road. He strongly believes that the Road Less Traveled program saved his life, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Giorgio was a corpsman in the Navy and the Marines. He did not want to get a medical discharge because he didn’t want to be a liability. His wife, Jackie, is a retired Navy nurse, who now works as an office manager near their home in Orlando.
For the past two years, Giorgio was confined to his bed, crippled by the back pain. His physician injected him 22 times with epidurals, after she concluded that he was allergic to cortisone injections.
"I’d been praying for God to heal me," said Giorgio.
Giorgio credits Dr. Adam Bianchini with springboarding his recovery and bringing him closer to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
"Dr. Bianchini is absolutely amazing. He prayed with me," said Giorgio.
"People don’t believe you are in pain because they don’t see the pain."
Giorgio’s eyes fill with tears when he recalls that his lowest point was hurting his children, Tatiana and Jared.
"When I hurt my kids, that was my rock bottom."
Giorgio has been a patient at The Treatment Center since July 12 when his wife dropped him off at the front door and then sat crying in the parking lot. He has not seen his wife or children since he entered the treatment program. He is looking forward to seeing them upon his release on September 10th.
"What healed me is Jesus Christ," said Giorgio. "I feel a huge change in my spiritual life."
Giorgio has had a combination of chiropractic therapy, massage therapy and laser therapy, which has helped his pain to become bearable. His time at The Treatment Center has been filled with miracles and Giorgio believes that everything happened for a reason.
"Miracles have rained down on my life," Giorgio said.
Prior to his admission to The Treatment Center, Giorgio was contemplating suicide. He and Jackie almost filed for bankruptcy and nearly lost their home to foreclosure. Now, Giorgio has faith that his future is bright. He was recently water baptized with a group from the RLT program.
"I have been given a new gift. I know I won’t go back on the drugs," said Giorgio. "God won’t give me anymore than I can handle. I can handle the pain with Christ in my life."
Dr. Adam Bianchini is a familiar face at The Treatment Center. His warm personality and wide smile give hope and reassurance to every one of his patients. Since joining the staff in August of 2009, Dr. Bianchini, an anesthesiologist, has helped many on their road to sobriety.
"I have a passion for helping people with addiction, as a kind of ministry," said Dr. Bianchini. "This [working here] provided an opportunity where I could do all these things."
Bianchini is excited about his involvement in the Road Less Traveled program.
"There is no recovery without Christ," said Dr. Bianchini.
In Romans 8:1, the Bible says "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering."
The RLT program has several goals. Dr. Bianchini hopes that the program will meld the goal of recovery with Christ’s love for every one of His children.
Bianchini is animated when talking about the connection between treatment and recovery and the fellowship with Jesus Christ that takes place every day.
"We want to be a safe place, and employ them with the true gift of recovery," said Dr. Bianchini. "This is not a drive-thru ministry. It will help them establish a lifestyle that will keep them away from the sin that brought them here in the first place."
The alarming rise in drug abuse, especially of prescription painkillers, is disturbing to Dr. Bianchini. It makes him angry.
"People are dying every day from this disease (addiction), " said Dr. Bianchini. "It is an epidemic. I call them ‘brain damagement’ clinics. They are killing people every day that are hooked on opiates."
According to Dr. Bianchini, there are 900 pain management clinics in the state of Florida. There are 100 pain management clinics in Palm Beach County. It makes Dr. Bianchini furious to know that six people every day are dying in Florida from prescription drug addiction.
The RLT program is changing people’s lives, not just believers, said Dr. Bianchini. The medically based program helps people get off the opiates. That is the first step and achieved with a treatment plan that includes massage, acupuncture, and laser therapy, in addition to traditional treatment modalities like individual and group counseling sessions.
"This place can help people with addiction much better. It can help those with more medically complex issues because we have a physician on staff," said Dr. Bianchini.
Dr. Bianchini is proud of the fact that five people were baptized recently at The Treatment Center. He is proud of his role in helping addicts recover both medically and spiritually.
"A lot of life-changing stuff happens here. The thing that is special about his program is the anointing of God. That’s what it is all about. Over and over, there are people being touched by God."
Dr. Bianchini believes that his role at The Treatment Center and the RLT program is special. "I am bringing the gift of God to addicts and alcoholics, to help them change their lives and try and save their lives."
Dr. Bianchini runs three groups in the RLT program and was involved in Celebrate Recovery, a Christian program that is in action across the country.
"What is going to set us apart is the program. This is the real deal and God is going to continue to change it into what He wants. God is doing something special here."
