Oh Mark, I'm so sorry that the pain has been off the charts for you lately! It's hard to stay strong when your body is rebelling against all your positive thinking, hope, and desire to just be able to function reasonably well. Praise the Lord for your loving family there, holding you through the agony....I'm sure that you have been the strong one there for them so many times, and they are more than glad to be able to just hold you through this rough time. Lately I've made a list of those here amongst us and their respective prayer needs, and bringing each to the throne of God in prayer. You are certainly on the list! I don't know if prayer always changes "things" but I know that it changes "people". If nothing else, it changes the way we perceive our situations, and I also believe that prayer unleashes the grace of God in our lives, as we exercise our faith by believing that He is in control and trusting Him for the outcome. There's not much else I can do, but I can always pray, and you can be sure that I am praying for you (and for each of us) daily.

Gentle hugs,
Jan