Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.
Jack Kerouac, On the Road

As the Titanic sank, the band kept playing.

Faced with the ultimate adversity, the musicians could not change what had happened. They could not keep the ship afloat. But they could offer something to the people around them: music, a little calm, and the knowledge that they were not alone. Support. Solidarity. Community.

I have been thinking about them today.

Two long-standing expert friends from Germany came to work with Pádraig and others at An Saol. They have known him for years. They have seen what he can do, and they have continued to come back, to share their experience and to find out what else might be possible.

Today they worked with him in the Hocoma Andago, a device that supports him while he stands and moves.

For the first time, Pádraig pushed himself up in the Andago until he was standing straight.

Then he pulled his left leg back and gave the ball in front of him a big kick.

After the session, our two friends and I went up to Belfast to see the Titanic Experience. There, we stood in front of the original violin played by Wallace Hartley, the bandleader who kept playing as the ship sank.

It is hard to explain what Pádraig’s kick meant to those of us watching. Standing straight and kicking a ball are things most people do without giving them a thought. For Pádraig, each part of that movement took effort. And none of us had seen him put those parts together like that before.

There is a danger in calling something like this a miracle. It can make it sound as if it came out of nowhere.

It didn’t.

Pádraig did the work today. Behind that moment are years of work by him and by the people who have stood alongside him: people who have helped him practise, who have paid attention to what he is trying to do, and who have given him another chance to try. Our friends from Germany are among them.

I don’t know what Pádraig will do next time he gets into the Andago. I hope he will kick the ball again. I hope he will stand even taller. But today does not need a promise about tomorrow to matter.

Today he stood straight. He pulled back his leg. And he gave that ball a big kick.

The band will play on. Never stop.