Angel Nazario / Brany Olivero
It is always challenging for us as Christians to convince the secular world that when people become ill, medicine is not the only resource to aid them in regaining their health. Brany was not cured yet he lived a healthy life. He has lived almost forty years and openly expressed that faith is what has kept him alive all these years. He also gives credit and recognizes that without modern medicine approaches his life would have been much worse after the formal diagnosis of PKAN. This contrast goes beyond secular comprehesion when one realizes that more physicians have started to use prayers in their practices. Does religious faith contributes to better health? Despite a lack of solid evidence, advocates of a growing trend are integrating religoius practices in addition to medical treatment and are finding that it works. Many treating physicians are enhancing their effectiveness as medical healers by considering, inquiring about, and attending to the spiritual needs of their patients. Proponents from diverse medical backgrounds are already applying these concepts to their practices considering prayer as the medicine of the future. ANGEL NAZARIO was born in the beautiful Caribean island of Puerto Rico. He obtained a bachelors degree in Science of Education, while at the same time becoming a U.S. Army Reserve officer, received his ROTC commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1990. Looking for ways to advance his career after many years working in the non-profit and private sectors, he determined that education was the only way to become more marketable. In 2011, he graduated with honors from Springfield College with Masters in Education and Rehabilitation Counseling. At the present, he remains working in the vocational rehabilitation industry assisting individuals with disabilities to achieve competitive employment. As a chaplain officer, he also have the privilige to preach and counsel diverse populations in and out of the United States. Today he can affirm that the rehabilition process will never be complete unless individuals are seen as a whole person. He believes that the inseparable connection between mind, body and spirit will always be part of a holistic and integrated process to live a healthy life one can achieve on this earth as instituted by God. 3
