He really liked the idea of having a parrot. He would sit on your finger or your arm, really tame. You could talk to him, and he would talk back at you. When you’d need a bit of private time, you could lock him up in a cage and do your own thing. Parrots don’t need to be brought out for a walk. They don’t have to be trained to do their business outside. They sounded like the ideal pet. There were several problems to be overcome on the way to become a proud owner of a parrot. Most had to do with money.

So, we needed to get smart about it, and improvise a little. Next time I went to Germany, I had to buy a cage – they were so much cheaper there. During one of my visits to see my mother, I managed to find a pet shop selling a parrot cage I could carry, just about, and the my rental car was big enough to accommodate. You can guess how long ago this was when I tell you that the airline had no problem taking the massive parrot cage in as part of my ordinary luggage allowance. These days, our national and not so national airlines wouldn’t even take budgie cages. The next major problem was the price of the parrot itself: it was massive.

Luckily, we found a brilliant pet shop in Wicklow, just off the N11 outside Bray. They sold cockatiels. While cockatiels are not quite of the same caliber as the African Grey Parrot, they only cost a fraction – they were so affordable, Pádraig decided to get a pair of them. Yes, he would become a breeder himself and get rich, selling cockatiels to his friends, neighbors, family, and on his webstore. There was no magic, what this guy in Wicklow could do, he could surely do in his sleep!

So one Saturday morning, we went off to Wicklow, and bought a pair of cockatiels. He called one of them Elvis – because of his fancy hair do. At home, the massive cage was ready to welcome it news tenants. The cockatiels came in boxes which was great for transport. Unfortunately, these boxes were too big to fit through the narrow flap of the cage. So we had to bring both the cage, and the boxes with the cockatiels into our back garden and as close as possible to one of the sheds – we didn’t want them to escape, you see.

(Are you still with us, with the story? I know it’s getting a bit long, but we are almost there.)

What happened next was what you probably expected all along. Pádraig’s worst nightmare. The cockatiels got frightened, when we opened the flap of the box, they charged out, first towards us, and then for the door of the shed, into the wild. Panicking, we charged after them shouting ‘Elvis! Elvis come back! ELVIIIIS! Where are you? Come back!’

Close to tears we were looking everywhere.

Then there was a know on garden door. When we opened it, two nice young lads, with a bright smile were standing there. One held Elvis in his hands. The other said, with a huge big smile, “Elvis has left the building”.

Needless to say, we made sure Elvis never left the building again. Also needless to say, that while they tried and did lay some eggs, those eggs never hatched, and Pádraig never got rich selling dozens of cockatiels. He had overcome all those insurmountable problems to get the cockatiels: cages, finance, transport, and dozens of small things (like convincing me that this whole venture was not an incredible act of madness). But as soon as the goal was reached, it lost its attractiveness almost immediately. Excitement threatened to turn into routine – and no self-respectable young person would be ready for that, when there are so many other things to be achieved, to be chased, to be explored. He was not quite ready yet for “Zieh’ die Schuh aus, bring den Müll raus”, all those ordinary, boring things adults have to do. He still isn’t.

Today, Pádraig kept his carers and doctors busy for the best part of an hour. Having had therapies in the morning, and having sat out for about four and a half hours, he was moved back into his bed. While he never really likes to be moved, today he showed his disapprovement. His oxygen levels went down to uncomfortable levels. Pádraig was really really lucky that the staff looking after him today and the Oberärztin know him so well. Instead of doing what less familiar carers would have done immediately, i.e. moving him back on to the ventilator, they calmly talked to him, threatened him a little (in a nice way), comforted him a lot, gave him confidence, made him feel safe – and managed to bring him back to normal levels of oxygen and a good heart rate. I arrived in the middle of it all, and just stood by the side of the room, admiring and in my heart thanking the people who with their professionalism and care, their knowledge, confidence, and persistence have made it their ‘business’ to give everything possible to Pádraig that could support his recovery.

Today, Elvis did not leave the building. He is going to hang in a little longer. And when he will leave, it will be through the front door, on his way to meet his date(s) in the rose garden. In the meantime, we are still waiting for more tips on how to properly celebrate Paddy’s Day in Hamburg, in Eilbek, in the Schön Klinik. Any ideas?

Today’s German Music Tip
Roger Cicero, Zieh die Schuh aus (2006). Unglaublich, how much German music there is. Just when I thought, it was going to get a bit difficult, someone really nice reminded me of Roger Cicero. This is good music, with even better lyrics – to bring you back down from your high-flying circus, down back to what really matters: take off your shoes and take out the garbage. Could anything be more romantic?

What’s hot
Persistence
What’s cold
Panic
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Unglaublich, was?

Twitter: @forPadraig
#caringforPadraig
http://www.caringforPadraig.org
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