In the Star Trek universe, the Borg force other species into their collective and connect them to “the hive mind”; the act is called ‘assimilation’ and entails violence, abductions, and injections of microscopic machines called nanoprobes. The Borg’s ultimate goal is “achieving perfection” (Wikipedia). I looked up this wikipedia article, because today, we woke up to the RTE news telling the nation that antibiotic resistant microbes represent the biggest threat to global health, according to a report published in the medical journal The Lancet. The report was written by a group of 26 leading experts and suggests that “the global health-care delivery system must be re-engineered to counter the threat of antibiotic resistance”.

Before you start wondering what I had for dinner tonight – here is the connection to our current situation: Pádraig’s isolation and us wearing those funny gowns all seemed to make a lot more sense all of a sudden. What didn’t make sense anymore was the reply by Beaumont Hospital to the request from the Schön-Klinik’s accepting consultant to test Pádraig for four types of multi resistant bacteria prior to his arrival in the German clinic, in order to speed up his admittance, and in order to avoid the need to isolate him upon arrival. Beaumont said they could test Pádraig for two of the four multi resistant bacteria mentioned by the German consultant, they could not test for the third, and they had never heard of the fourth. The German consultant was not surprised to hear this, he said, as many of his EU colleagues were “still underestimating the problem”. He decided that Pádraig was to be isolated upon arrival for his own safety, and that of the hospital’s staff.

Today, Pádraig was a bit more lively: heart beat up, higher frequency of breaths. We think that a ‘soothing’ medicine they had given him on Friday when they changed his tracheostomy might have had a slightly stronger effect than they had anticipated; this has worn off by now. Nurses told us again that they see him communicating and responding well to requests – I think Pádraig might not feel he has much of an option when a German nurse asks him “Open your eyes, Herr Schäler!”:). We also heard that the results coming back from the microbiologists have been negative so far – so if all goes well we won’t have to wear the gowns and masks we got so used to anymore from tomorrow, fingers crossed. He is still getting an antibiotic, and it seems to work: his temperature is normal.

The Borg are the main threat to civilization in many Star Trek movies and became a symbol in popular culture for any juggernaut against which “resistance is futile” (Wikipedia). We got the impression that many people working in Beaumont got “assimilated” by the Borg, they believe that the reality that surrounds them is, if not “perfect”, quite ok and certainly ‘normal’. Well, it is not: good, ok, or normal. ‘Good enough’ is not acceptable in the health service where people’s lives are at stake. – And yes, I am thinking of organizing a German-Irish ‘exchange’ to help people break away from the Borg.

Finally – some of you have left comments on this blog. Thank you so much! (They were all very kind so far:) Others have emailed and texted to say they tried to leave a comment but didn’t manage to do so. PLEASE try again – and if you don’t see your comment displayed on the website immediately, don’t worry, it will appear as soon as I release it: comments on the blog have to be approved to avoid spam.

What’s hot
German music tip: Peter Fox, Haus am See (2008)
Kilometres we have driven to-date (since Wed., 13 Nov): 1,037
What’s cold
Endless road works on the famous autobahns
Speed cameras