In 1986, when a lot of you weren’t even born, I moved to Ireland. It was a dream come true. I had listened to Clannad in Dortmund’s bunker (a folk bar in a WWII bunker) in 1976. They arrived 3 hours late because they had been stopped on the Autobahn by German police looking for terrorists – they had, after all, very long hair. In 1997, I walked up the west coast with a friend and we both thought that to live here would be heaven. When Pat and I moved to Dublin, it was like a dream come true, the beginning of a new life, and a new family. I never thought that we would have to leave one day.

This morning, we got a phone call from the hospital. The doctor who rang us made the mistake not to introduce what he had to say by “no need to worry, everything is alright” – so we had a few anxious moments until he told us that he was ringing to ask us for permission to take out some of the cerebrospinal fluid from Pádraig in an attempt to reduce pressure from Pádraig’s brain. Apparently, it’s a routine procedure, there is a bit more involved than drawing blood, but not much, he said. The only risks would be infection and possible bleeding, but they were minimal and would be kept well under control. We would see in a day or two if the procedure would have any positive effect on Pádraig’s level of awakeness. We consented, of course, and the procedure was carried out this morning. We’ll have to wait and see whether it’ll make a difference.

When we went to visit Pádraig later in the day, he was still on the ventilator, with a bit of a fever. The doctors explained that they were looking for bacteria that caused the fever. We said that  both in Beaumont and in the US, doctors had been trying this unsuccessfully, and that the slight occasional fever might not be caused by bacteria or an infection at all. We also agreed with them to start a special treatment for his lungs with the physios on Monday, to clear the phlegm out of his lungs on a regular basis.

There will be a steady flow of visitors from tomorrow. I am sure, Pádraig will be delighted to have his friends around again. He must be missing you, your voices, your stories, your presence.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said in January of this year that young emigrants are not driven away by unemployment. Instead, he said, emigration in most young people’s cases is being driven by “a desire to see another part of the world and live there” (as reported by TheJournal in January 2013). Sarah Stack, on 27 September 2012, reported in the Irish Independent that, according to official figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), 87,000 people emigrated from Ireland in 2012, a new record.

I don’t know whether Michael Noonan is right or not, but I know that at least Pádraig did not get the treatment he needed when he needed it. Being told that he would have to wait for the best part of a year for a bed that he needed straight away basically forced him out of the country. He was emigrated. It was not a life-style choice. I don’t know anyone who loves Ireland as Pádraig does.

Today’s German Music Tip
Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Wieder hier (1998) (Westernhagen is the ‘raw’ version of Lindenberg, although this song is almost too sweet for him.)
What’s hot
Pat driving the red Kia Ferrari to Hamburg, and back
Me sitting in the passenger seat looking at the scenery
Kilometres we have driven to-date (since Wed., 13 Nov): 2,356
What’s cold
Surprise calls from the hospital
Isolation, isolation
Having dinner at 10pm
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Ich bin wieder hier
in meinem Revier
war nie wirklich weg
hab mich nur versteckt
ich rieche den Dreck
ich atme tief ein
und dann bin ich mir sicher
wieder zu hause zu sein
(Westernhagen, Wieder hier)