came to Loma Linda to get a piece of paper," says Philip Amidon, M.D., F.A.C.P., who is currently completing a fellowship in gastrointestinal medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center. "But here I also got my life back--as well as a life hereafter."

A board-certified internist who practiced in Maine, Dr. Amidon was asked by the state's only VA hospital in 1990 if he could become knowledgeable in gastroenterology, since they had lost their only gastroenterologist and had been unable to find a replacement.

For several years Dr. Amidon learned all he could about the specialty. But all along, he struggled with an addiction to alcohol. When arrested for drunk driving in 2000, he felt as if the bottom had dropped out of his life and career.

Disgusted and ashamed, Dr. Amidon sought professional help and determined to change his life--body, mind, and spirit. He applied to scores of hospitals to begin a fellowship in gastroenterology, with no responses until he heard from Loma Linda University in late 2001.

At Loma Linda, Dr. Amidon found great support and help from Dr. Mickey Ask, assistant professor of Preventive Medicine; Daniel Giang, M.D., vice president for Medical Administration; and John McCracken, M.D., director of the GI Fellowship Program. He also experienced a spiritual transformation, in part owing to the ministry of Hyveth Williams, senior pastor of the Loma Linda Campus Hill church. Recently Dr. Amidon became a member of this church.

Alcohol-free for more than six years now, Dr. Amidon is active in helping other physicians break free of the addiction. Of his life, he says, "I now have a Savior, a church, and a congregation. And I have a purpose: To serve God! Now, nothing is missing in my life!"