Below is a transcript of our interview with Trina Breault. She suffered from debilitating pain and saw Claude Provencher for treatment.
Q Tell me about the health problems that led you into this desperate situation?
I had chronic pain throughout my body and I had been on pretty strong pain medication. All the doctors and specialists that I had seen had told me to be prepared that I’d be on it for life. I was 41 at the time and I had three children. I wouldn’t spend the rest of my life on pain medication - I couldn’t.
Q Did you get to a point where you said to yourself i got to try something else, try anything?
Oh yes. I spent a lot of money on non-traditional type healing. I did light therapy; I went to chiropractors and naturopaths and acupuncture. I did pretty much anything you could think of.
Q You're really desperate – did you go to someone and say what else is out there?
Yes. I had a family member who had been seeing a faith healer. And she believed that he had special gifts from God. There had been so much positive response; so many people claimed to have been healed by him. Anything from cancer to pain issues and everything you could imagine.
Q Did you think to yourself well – a “faith healer?”
Yeah, well of course. I was very skeptical but I was desperate. If traditional healthcare wasn’t giving me very much hope, telling me that I was going to be on pain medication for the rest of my life…
Q Then why not turn to God?
I would try anything. I was desperate.
Q So you go and see him - what’s he all about?
He didn’t have an office, he didn’t advertise. You had to be brought to him by an existing patient. So I had asked her to refer me, and that was in August. But I wasn’t able to get into him until January.
Q Wow. That packed up with people wanting to be healed by him?
Yes. So I got in to see him eventually. I was very well prepared ahead of time. I was told what to expect, what to do, what not to do. And it was all a little bizarre. You would be naked, without being covered. I was told that initially if you were uncomfortable you could keep your bra and underwear on, but if he deemed it necessary for the treatment you would have to remove them eventually. I was told not to anger him. You know he had good days and bad days but if you pissed him off you’d be asked to leave and not come back. So I went in quite nervous.
Q You're sitting in the living room, in walks Claude Provencher, what are your first impressions?
He’s not what I expected, he was older than I expected. He was scary looking quite frankly. He was not a calming, healing type person that I expected.
Q Did you think “I'm going to leave?”
Yeah a few times I thought that. A few times, but honestly he was my last hope. I really had nowhere else to turn.
Q So you’ve got this scary looking guy in front of you that doesn’t look very calm, doesn’t look like a healer, but you're that desperate?
I was. You have to understand also I was grieving a life that I used to have. I used to be a very strong, active individual. And I went from that person to someone that was in a wheelchair. I was only 41 years old that’s very young to be in that situation.
Q The faith healer is in the room – what does he say to you?
He tells me to get undressed. And he has me lay on the table which is just a basic massage table in the middle of the room. And he proceeds to “read me.” He would hold his fingers on different parts [of my body].
Q Is he, I don’t know,yelling “heal, heal, heal, heal?”
No, no he’s receiving messages from God as to what my issues are.
Q In that first treatment did he allow you to stay in your bra and underwear?
Initially he did. And then the treatment became too difficult for him to have it on. He became very irritated with my underwear the way they were and he was pulling on them and I was concerned that they were going to get ripped. The rest of the session consists of him running his fingers down, what I found later are your nerves in your body. So he called his fingers Jesus’ scalpels.
Q Jesus’ scalpels?
Yes and he explained it to me that it’s going to be very, very painful but that it was necessary.
Q You didn’t think to yourself when he said that, this guy is a whack job?
Yes I did, of course I did. But you know, there were so many people that had such positive results. If they could have it why couldn’t I?
Q After the first session did you think to yourself, what in heaven's name did I get myself into?
Absolutely, absolutely. I called my sister-in-law and said “is this normal?” And she was very reassuring that yes, well it’s not comfortable, it’s not enjoyable, but it’s necessary. It’s part of the treatment.
Q When you think back do you feel foolish?
I wish I had have been as strong as I am now back then. You know I wish I had followed my gut instinct. But because my gut instinct was screaming out the whole time. But I was so desperate.
Q Why speak out now?
Because I do believe he’s still practicing. It’s not comfortable to put myself out like this or exposure my family to further ridicule but people need to be informed.
