Most times, Padraig opens just one of his eyes, the left one. Today, while he was having a short break from an early therapy session, he opened the two of his eyes, both of them. I don’t yet fully understand what the reason for opening both eyes is, but I guess it must have got something to do with his energy levels and the attention he is paying to what is going on around him.

It was our second day today and Pádraig’s second day of walking. While it was a little new a more difficult yesterday, today the ‘walk’ went much smoother and we began to develop a ‘feeling’ for balance and coordination: Pádraig himself, myself holding him from the back and a therapist moving his feet. Meaning that with the help of just two people, Pádraig can walk.

Tonight we had an early farewell dinner for another Irish family who’ll be leaving Pforzheim this coming weekend to go back home. They had ordered in an Irish stew which we all enjoyed this evening.

Also talked to a German family today about the therapies their son is getting, who is in a similar place as Pádraig. The short answer is: 9 units of therapy, including physio for his lungs, special neuro physio, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. And there is no limit to that. It’s prescribed by his local GP and the public health insurer pays for it.