We had to leave when the installer arrived this morning to fix the ceiling hoist that I had intended to proudly present to our visitors yesterday. By the time we were ready to leave, it was too late for Pat to come along and we had to call a friend who dropped what she had to do to sit in the back of the Doblo with Pádraig while I was trying to find the shortest way around the world-famous Web Summit that was blocking the whole of Dublin’s traffic.

We had a brilliant evening yesterday and a good night’s sleep. The enormity of what happened yesterday hasn’t quite sunk in yet. And tomorrow, Pádraig will leave the NRH again to stay with us for the weekend!

He had a busy day today. And a really eventful one as well!

Having made it safely back to the NRH, he had a quick breakfast and then had an appointment in the seating clinic where his new wheelchair had arrived. It’s Swedish made and has a great look and feel. We’ll test it over the coming days, especially at home to see whether it’ll fit through all the doors.

But the highlight of the day, of the month, was, undoubtedly, the OT cum SLT session where Pádraig did his tricks with a switch that, when pressed, makes a sound. The OT decided that “his left foot” was the one to do the work.

First: press once, press once, press twice,… and each time he ‘delivered’.

Then: press once for ‘yes’, press twice for ‘no’ … and he answered all the questions correct.

Finally: the OT said different letters of the alphabet, one every five seconds. Each time she said ‘C’, he had to press the switch. And each time he did it!

Isn’t that unbelievable!?

With some more practice and consistence, he’ll be able to spell words! “C” – what a wonderful letter!!!