In pain and struggling

Those of you who read my Honest Faith blog may remember that about this time last year I had a major health scare that turned out not to be life-threatening after all, but rather a very painful chest condition called costochondritis.

Well, at the end of October it came back. It's come and gone, but I have had to take time off work a few times because of it. Over the past week it's been particularly painful. I've been taking the same medication as last time, and it does help, but it doesn't always stop the pain.

On Friday it was particularly painful when I was in work, and I struggled to stay there. Perhaps I should have come home, because a teacher who can't focus on anything but the pain he's in isn't really an effective teacher at that point.

Anyway, my reason for posting this is that it's getting me down. I'm not in "uncharted waters" because I've had this condition before, but it's very painful and very unpleasant, and it's stopping me doing many of the things that I want/need to do (my wife is also very ill, and I need to take her to hospital appointments while doing all the household chores because she's currently unable to do much). Normal life, and many of my normal activities such as mountain biking, have had to go. I'm still able to go dancing on my good days, but I can't get out on my bike because whereas I can stop dancing if and when the pain returns, I can't just stop riding if I'm on a mountain track ten miles from home with no vehicle access. Plus, of course, this is affecting my work.

Prayer would be appreciated. Coping with my own illness as well as my wife's is a real struggle at the moment.