From Bryans Mother…
“We are going to surround him with so much love, there is no way that he won’t feel it”. I may not have the quote exactly right, but it is the one thing I remember from the day that I left Bryan at Bay Area Recovery. It wasn’t what I expected to hear and definitely was not what I had heard at the other treatment facilities or from the other counselors. But when Chuck looked at us and said those words, I felt hopeful , curious and optimistic. Not too optimistic – after 16 years of fighting this battle with Bryan, I was finally a little more cautious in believing that this would be the thing, the place that would make a difference. I didn’t really know much about the program at Bay Area, I knew that it was a 12 Step program, but since Bryan had told me that those didn’t work, I really hadn’t bothered to learn too much about the 12 Steps. I had spent a lot of time researching other methods – hoping for the miracle cure, a magical change .
The change in Bryan was (and still is) a miracle that I am grateful for every day. It was a miracle of God’s love and a PacMan machine. It was a miracle of spiritual growth made possible by a group of men dedicating their lives to helping others, men sharing encouragement, men living their faith, men building a community of support. Bryan had never been surrounded by such positive role models in his whole life.
Bryan’s childhood was difficult, but he was such a sweet, loving, sensitive, charming child that I had never really worried about him. I just took it for granted that he would grow into a wonderful adult. I missed the signs that he was involved with drugs – even when they were obvious. I believed his lies for many, many years – and so did many other people. He used that charm for evil, as he became a masterful liar, who conned many people. In the prison Therapeutic Community, he was chosen to lead the drug education, he tricked probation officers with the whizzinator, and was elected president of his rehab – all while never giving up drugs. The difference at Bay Area is that they saw through the lies – they weren’t interested in his games, they are only interested in being honest with themselves and with each other. They supported and encouraged each other in the pursuit of truth.
Watching Bryan grow spiritually has been an amazing experience for me. I gave Bryan a special ring tone on my cell phone about a year ago; the song is ‘There is a God’ - Bryan was beginning to believe that and to build a relationship with God.
There were several people at Bay Area who took a special interest in Bryan and today they encourage him to do for the newcomers what the others did for him – and the power of their positive changes moves in more and more lives. Chuck provided the vision and leadership that reached Bryan in many ways – through his videos and through his living example. Daniel was an excellent counselor and friend that provided objective support to Bryan and to me. Mike White helped Bryan feel the sense of community and friendship that opened Bryan’s heart and mind. But the real miracle came from Banks and the PacMan machine. Banks worked hard to reach Bryan, buying the PacMan game to enable them to spend time together doing something fun while being a living example of God’s love in Bryans life.