That is the approximate, lowest, yet unbelievably large number of people who, Aodhán believes, have contributed to Snámh Phádraig. Isn’t that amazing? He has put together the final statistics and figures for this incredible effort by Pádraig’s friends, though they haven’t really sunk in with me. It’s just so gigantic.

Today brought such an array of good news, I’m sure I forgot some aspects of it:

• Wheelchair: his current chair works ok, but there is a new one on its way from Denmark! In the meantime, he sat out again today for almost four hours. (And while doing it, Pat asked him to move his right foot, his left foot, and both feet together – he managed the left foot, and the right foot, but struggle with both feet at the same time.)
• Arm splints: they are being adjusted, and a joint is going make it more flexible
• Stockings: the second edition of the personalised and custom-made with-name-tag Vorsprung-durch-Technik-Stockings is back and, so far, seems to fit much better
• Speech valve: worked perfectly today, for just over an hour
• MOTOMed-viva-2: in regular use – today for around 35 minutes, 3km+
• Three really great friends over from Dublin to visit Pádraig

AND: from today, nurses will be allowed to put on Pádraig’s speech valve when we are there. A N D: we will be ‘trained’ to become more directly involved and suction Pádraig. Next Monday, we will try it on a model, and on Wednesday, we’ll do the real thing. (No, I’m not thinking about giving up the day job quite yet!) This is really so good, I almost can’t believe it. First the MOTOMed-viva-2-bike. Now speech valve and suctioning. Next thing has to be the wheelchair! And, of course, the rose garden!

Another effort is on the way by a whole industry to support ‘Caring for Pádraig’. Localisation World is coming to Dublin’s Convention Centre on 4-6 June 2013, an event I have been at for many years. The organisers, old friends, together with other friends from the industry are organising the MOUNTAIN FLAG CHALLENGE – HIKE DJOUCE AND PLANT YOUR COMPANY FLAG – HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR ‘CARING FOR PADRAIG’ for Saturday, 07 June 2014.

PS: Still very tired from the Marathon. Saturday will be the first day of training for Dublin in October:)

Today’s German Music Tip
Not a music tip but a video of last year’s Hamburg Marathon, a full 2:58hrs long:)
What’s hot
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The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Rathaus (voted word of the day by today’s Irish visitors:)