My son developed excruciating pain that he incorrectly attributed to a medication, just based on the coincidental timing of the injection and onset of his severe pain. His physician thought it was very unlikely the medication caused the pain, but didn't know what did. My son, would scream out in pain with movement. It wasn't localized, but he hurt everywhere. It almost seemed like muscle spasms, but a muscle relaxer didn't help. Our Nurse assured us he wasn't satisfied and that he was fighting for my son. He sometimes came into the room to take care of things that were really the CNA's job when she was busy. He cared about all of us, and we discussed life, family, careers, and just anything as we got to know each other. He had great communication skills and would make reflective statements to my son, like "What I hear you saying is....". When he wasn't in the room, we saw him on the computer at the nursing station, researching what it might be that was causing this unbearable pain.

My son's condition is pretty complex, having been treated with many medications and chronic pain back pain with multiple surgeries and his chronic pain treated with narcotics. But this pain was something different and much worse than his baseline. I told my wife and son that I was confident he was in good hands with our nurse. In the course of his research, our nurse found a possibility and persuaded the doctor to order a new test. He told us it was ordered and if it was the cause of the pain, how it is usually treated. He didn't know it because his shift was over when the test result came back, but he found the answer! Based on the test results, the doctor changed how they treated my son, which was exactly the treatment our nurse described. The result was astounding. The next morning, my son was like a new man, and his unbearable suffering was relieved. A guy who couldn't get out of bed without screaming in pain was discharged to his home a day later. My wife, granddaughter and I all thought our nurse deserved recognition for his skills, compassion, and going above and beyond for this grateful family.

Note: This is Christopher's 2nd DAISY Award!