Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1444914
Health Matters: Providence Mission Hospital | 3 Hope, Faith and Recovery The Mental Health and Wellness Institute at Providence Mission Hospital offers a broad range of mental health and chemical dependency care. As this letter from a patient in recovery attests, expert treatment transforms lives. M y name is Toby. I've been battling alcoholism for many years. Over the past 12 years in particular, my life was simply a living hell. Precious relationships fell from my life like leaves off a tree. Career hopes vanished. Finances ended up a mess. These were replaced by estrangement from family and friends, handcuffs, ridicule by others. I found myself navigating life through a self-imposed prison. But out of nowhere came this thought: Why not give myself a final shot at the Chemical Dependency Program at Providence Mission Hospital? Little did I know it would turn out to be a life-changing event for me when medical director Aung Thu, MD, admitted me for treatment. Dr. Thu saw me every morning during my stay. He sincerely wanted to know how I was doing. I received counseling, acupuncture, massage and guided meditation. Soon, as my faculties began to slowly surface, I started to see that the Chemical Dependency Unit was not a typical detox unit. I began feeling this thing called hope. It had been so long since I had any hope that it took me a minute or two to recognize it. It wasn't long before I noticed that this bit of hope brought along a guest called faith. Faith, too, was a strange concept for me to adjust to. Fear—which I knew all too well—was fading fast. My entire stay here seemed to come to full fruition on my second- to-last day in the inpatient unit. Having embraced the guidance from Dr. Thu, my nurses and others, I was truly thinking that I had a shot at sobriety. What solidified this train of thought was my last visit for acupuncture. The therapist guided me through a very powerful meditation that was able to go beyond depths which previous psychiatrists had attempted with me. That session seemed to somehow encompass all I had learned throughout my stay at Mission Hospital. I realized that Mission Hospital was, for sure, a launching pad for recovery. As I write this, I am full of hope. Fear has been replaced by faith. I have snapped out of the past. I allow tomorrow to take care of itself. I'm learning how to manage my recovery with intensive outpatient therapy. I now wake up each morning not counting beer cans, but counting my blessings instead. I am sincerely grateful to Mission Hospital and its awesome staff for the gift of a solid launching pad for recovery. This place saved my life. For information on the Mental Health and Wellness Institute at Providence Mission Hospital: Adult Intensive Outpatient and Partial Hospitalization programs: 949-499-7504 Adult Chemical Dependency Program: 949-499-7142 Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program: 949-499-7504