When we are sitting in the living room and chat or watch the TV, we have a monitor that allows us to hear and see Pádraig in his bed. One of the things he started to do some time ago when he was lying on one side was to turn his head to the middle. After a while or when he had problems breathing and swallowing he wanted to move it back to the side but couldn’t do it. That’s when we went in and helped him to re-position his head into a comfortable position.

When this happened tonight, I went down to his room as usual to help him.

Only that tonight by the time I got to his bed he had managed to move his head back by himself. And this time he did that, literally, in his sleep.

I think this happens to all of us at times. We do the right thing without having to think about it, it’s like a reflex, something in our sub-consciounce guiding us.

Tonight Pádraig recovered a very practical aspect of this, one that is working with his motor movements.The other part, telling him what is right or wrong, what makes sense and what does not, he never lost and has been sharing with us for more than four years now. And the world is that little bit better for it.