So good news!  carissa came through her spinal surgery just fine. The docs all say it went as perfectly as they could hope for. Her pain levels are still sucky, so the ICU nurses are still working on that. She managed to get out of bed and stand up with help from the PT department, which is amazing for the day after they cut apart her spine and bolted it back together. They started her on clear liquids tonight, and hopefully tomorrow they'll move to soft foods and a regular hospital room instead of the ICU. If all goes well, I'll get to take her home this coming weekend. I'm exhausted and have spent the past 48 hours in waiting rooms and a not-so-great pull out couch bed thing in her hospital room. Home tonight for a shower and a real bed.