You wouldn’t guess what this is. I had never in my life seen one. Not even heard that they existed.
The other day, I saw one for the first time. A small cabin that moves up along a pair of rails into the room on top. When the lift is upstairs, you wouldn’t see in the downstairs room that there was a lift, unless you were looking for it. It’s a brilliant option if you don’t want a big extension but instead use the upstairs with a wheelchair.
We went swimming this afternoon and Pádraig floated in the water for the first time almost by himself, just supported by some floats. He relaxed almost completely and, also for the first time, used his arms and hands to move. And then there was, of course, the walking across the pool bit.
I have been thinking more about the necessity of holding people to account who ignore the needs of persons with a severe brain injury.
Toddler exposed to aggressive care in creche awarded €25,000 damages.
But what about patients who get injured, get dropped feet, and contractions – purely because of lack of appropriate care?
Hospi-Tales 
Reinhard. Thank u for sharing this. I wonder if it is very expensive. Just because a person is confined to a wheelchair it should not mean they cannot have the benefit of going upstairs. There is a young woman who is 10 years (she is only in her 40’s) in a wheelchair and in a care home for the elderly. I have to trace back on my twitter account to get her name but in her case this would extend her options in getting her own place.
I agree with you about the Duty of Care to people who are in care settings. Too often we hear, decades after, or as a result of RTE investigative journalism doing some undercover work, about abuse against vulnerable people. My mum, a rural GP, always stressed the importance of visitors attending hospitals especially if patients were in there long term. I believe this to be essential. I note my neighbour calls several times each day to see his wife in care. He has published many books and is a man of great wisdom and understanding and when he does this you know he is also a very aware human being to what the potential is for harm of vulnerable people.
Padraig. Swimming and calm enough to just float along. It was a dull day today but it is not long until the days will be warm, the trees in bloom.
Michelle
Michelle. Thank YOU for sharing your thoughts. It is nice to read your messages and find out about how you all are doing.There are hundreds and hundreds of young persons in nursing homes who should not be there. You don’t want your mother or father to be in a nursing home (and most of old people do not want to be there either), but for a young person it is definitely not the right place to be (if it can be helped at all). We haven’t found out how much that kind of through-ceiling lift costs today, but we heard from another family how much they paid more than 10 years ago. More than ten thousand euro (or pounds?). I know the comparison is not valid, but that’s what they said about institutions in Germany during the 30s and early 40s in Germany, that sick persons who received regular visits had a better chance of survival and a lesser chance of being abused. Stay strong. Reinhard