Worse Than Going Through Surgery

The step-down unit experience so far has been WAY worse than going through the actual surgery.  Dax has been in severe pain for most of the time since we arrived in the unit. and he is sick and tired of being poked and prodded.  They are doing a terrible job of keeping on top of it and it is absolutely agonizing to watch and feel so helpless.  Thank God he won't remember this, because this nightmare is going to stick with us forever.  His night nurse, Dani, just gave him some chloral hydrate and morphine and he finally calmed down.  We hope they can begin to manage his pain better or Jade is going to kill someone.  We pray for more rest and comfort for Dax the rest of his stay here.  Hopefully, all three of us can get some sleep tonight, but we're not counting on much.  They come in every few hours to feed him through his tube, check his vital signs, and will draw labs at 4am.  His chest x-ray is at 6am and he will have his swallow study sometime after that.  We will hope for a better day tomorrow.  Goodnight everyone.