I had almost forgotten about one of the most amazing things that Pádraig did recently, just some weeks ago. When I had lifted something I shouldn’t have lifted, and in a way I shouldn’t have lifted it, I had hurt my back. It took me a few days to get over it and another few to get back to normal. – One of the things I learned over the past years is that persons with an acquired brain injury (probably everybody) should be transferred by hand, not in a hoist, if at all possible. So I learned how to do this with Pádraig and now that he can help, it’s pretty easy and straight forward. But, during those few days that I had problems with my back I did not do the transfers. – When all was back in order, we asked Pádraig if it was ok for him if I did the transfer again.

And guess what? He said ‘no’. At first we thought that he didn’t like me doing it and preferred the hoist. But then we asked him whether he preferred the hoist because he was worried about my back, and he said ‘yes’.

That was not the only time he showed incredible empathy – more than has been shown to him at times by the health system. When Pat had a procedure done on one of her legs last week and we asked him did he want to go for a walk with us over the weekend, he said ‘no’. Again, first we thought he just preferred not to go out. But then we proposed to him that I would push his chair, not Pat, and he was delighted to go out and catch a breath of fresh air.

/He/ was worried about /us/.

And today, in one of our 3-monthly or so meetings with the HSE, involving a dozen people of which only one had seen and worked with Pádraig over the past months, they proposed to assess whether Pádraig is in a position to take decisions.

Seriously, guys…