Pádraig and I have arrived in Hamburg, Germany. The staff at Beaumont Hospital had got up in the middle of the night today to prepare Pádraig for his second big trip in four months. An ambulance picked us up at the hospital and we arrived safely at Dublin Airport a few minutes later. We had to wait 45 minutes for airport police to complete some paperwork, and then they escorted us to the air ambulance waiting for us on the tarmac. The flight was relatively uneventful and took less than two hours. Out of the plane, into the German ambulance, and off to Hamburg-Eilbek’s Schön-Klinik (no paperwork this time).
Pádraig was brought to the neuro ICU, located in a 2-year old building. Upon arrival, there were about eight hospital staff who checked him in and made him comfortable. I had a 30-minute ‘welcome-talk’ with an ‘Oberarzt’ (senior doctor). She explained to me that they will test Pádraig for multi-resistant bacteria and that his room will an ‘isolation’ room until the swabs will come back. This means, you can only get into this room with a special disposable apron and a face mask for the next three days or so. Once Pádraig has settled in, she is planning to run a number of tests and scans to get a better picture of Pádraig’s condition.
Following a very long day for both of us, I had to leave Pádraig to look for a hostel. It took a while, but with the help of hospital staff who let me use their computer and internet, I found one.
So here we are, Pádraig in his new bed in the Schön-Klinik, me in a hostel not too far away from Hamburg’s main train station – both of us absolutely exhausted. I am writing the first entry into our hospi-tales, something I intend to do every day from now on. I hope these tales from the hospital will help us to stay connected with Ireland, and the town Pádraig and I loved so well. This is a new beginning, with new hope. It’s a new beginning but with a heavy heart.