Tomorrow, there will be a night of music for Pádraig in the Conradh. Today, Pádraig was better, almost as if he was getting ready for tomorrow night, and a couple of days of recording. No fever, low heartbeat, great oxygen on ‘Raumluft’. It’s actually ‘Raumluft’ we’re after. The more the better. And in addition to taking in all the ‘Raumluft’ he can get (meaning: he doesn’t need additional oxygen) he is also swallowing as if there was no tomorrow. Well – of course, there will be a tomorrow (we have learned the hard way that, no matter what happens, the world does not stop). Kindofa big day even. The day of the FEES. And in case you might have thought (like myself – until I saw it in writing) that the hospital was looking for money from us, or that they were talking about a city in the North of Africa – it’s neither. It stands for ‘Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing’. No idea yet of what exactly this is going to be like, but we’ll find out in 12 hours…

Today, his friends circulated a press release on their recording project. What struck me most when I read it was the sense of commitment and sheer energy and fun that they feel. In fact, this morning, in my half dream (remember the half-dream:), I was humming the melody, and I can’t get it out of my head (like ” Midnight on the water, I saw the ocean’s daughter, Walkin on a wave she came, Staring as she called my name…” by ELO from 1974, with one of the most amazing, really ‘old’ videos).

Today, the therapists also dressed Pádraig up in a great t-shirt (brilliant!) and when we arrived, he was sitting in his wheelchair, all dressed up, almost ready to go out for a walk. Well, it wasn’t to be today, but, I’m sure, his day will come!