Too tired and too late to do this well – so very shortly: we spent most of the day on the Cape, talking to the Mayor of Brewster, as well as the Police, and nurses in Cape Cod Hospital….

Can’t keep my eyes open. More tomorrow. We’ll be off to the airport in the morning, back in Hamburg on Friday.

It’s 03:51 in Dublin and it feels like it. Tired but not giving up, never.

Today, instead of being at a trial, we met one of the people who saw the accident. We met in a café just outside of Boston. She told us what she remembered of the accident; we told her how Pádraig was doing. She said she was thinking of and praying for Pádraig often.

In the morning, we visited one of the world’s best rehabilitation facilities, the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. We had only learned about this facility after we had arrived here, so we went there without an appointment. It was quite impressive and while we did not meet many of the people responsible for severe brain injuries, we got many contact names and their details and met the head of ‘physical therapy’. We will keep working on these contacts when we are back home. – What impressed me was their promise to “never give up” on anyone. Never.

We also had another long meeting with our attorney. Coming from Europe, it is hard to understand how issues like Pádraig’s devastating accident are dealt with in the US. Starting with the fact that insurance policies are capped at an amount that is utterly inadequate for accidents and resulting injuries as serious as Pádraig’s. The insurance available to cover the damage is a tiny fraction of what Padraig has needed and will need to cover his care. Add to that the uncertainties of a trial and you are moving in a space I personally find so hard to deal with: the need to be pragmatic and to accept that there are severe limitations to what is available is hard to accept because it is not necessarily in tune with what I would see as fair and just.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll be going out to Cape Cod. We have an appointment with the Police in Brewster and are trying to set another meeting up with the town council. The driver of the van that hit Pádraig will not be available for a meeting, unfortunately.

Not sure how tomorrow will turn out. We’ll see.

Here am I am here. The clock says 00h25, the computer says 05:25, my mind doesn’t know what that all means. When I (literally) fell asleep last night I did not sleep through. Instead, I woke up every hour or so looking for Pádraig. That I was on a different continent only dawn on me when i woke up and looked around.

It really seems that there will not be a trial. The lawyers are still negotiating and will, hopefully, be able to bring this case to some conclusion that we can all live with.

One of Pádraig’s friends had organised for her friends to meet with us while here in Boston. It is really amazing to see how much the Irish row in behind you when you’re really in trouble. They also told us how many people had heard about the accident and were, are ready to help. It is truly amazing. While there won’t be much time while we are here this time, we will follow up on our conversations here with our friends, and will work with them to raise the level of awareness about the consequences of severe bicycle accidents, and the lack of neuro-rehabilitation programs in Ireland.

You couldn’t imagine how strange these days here in Boston feel. For so many different reasons. We will have more meetings with different parties over the next two days.

Tiredness is catching up on me…

Just a very short, early morning post.

We arrived well in Boston. There will be not trial tomorrow, but negotiations between the attorneys. We’ll see tomorrow…

More tomorrow.

First Day back in the apartment.

The bus that never showed up – although, it does look slightly over the top…

It’s funny, how quickly I had become institutionalised. Like in any institution, our day was not really ours. It’s taken over by other people and we just had to fit in. Just after 7am, the doctors make their round, they hardly knock on the door, come in with 4 people, switch on all lights and briefly tell you what’s going to happen next. In our case, on most days that wasn’t that much, so off they went. Then came breakfast, the cleaning lady, someone asking what we would like for lunch, then lunch at around noon, coffee at 2pm, dinner at just after 5pm. And then what? Therapists, doctors, nurses came in from time to time to fill in the gaps.

But none of that is the way one usually would live, or sleep, or eat, or drink, or meet other people.

In the end, it was almost sad to leave our new friends on the ward behind. They had all been very kind, really nice people, and very helpful.

But I missed a “bad” take away, some really “good” cooked food, our apartment, my bed, being in charge of the day myself (well, more or less)…

All that is back now. All the operations are behind Pádraig. And a great time, with great weather, a family trip to Lourdes, Pádraig taking on life, recovering control of his body and its functions, being back in charge of himself, being able to eat, drink, communicate – very little very slowly but better every day, all ahead of us.

Finally, there is one thing the Irish and the German have in common: their love for potatoes! – Here comes Step 7 to Germanize yourself!

Today, we left the UKE. Eventually.

There was a bit of a panic in the morning when I was told that the ambulance to take us back to the apartment had been ordered and would arrive with the hour. After two and a half week, my stuff had had a great time, it seems, multiplying. So where I had had two pieces of paper, there now were heaps. Same with books, toiletries, and even socks (you might remember how important socks can be).

We were all ready by 9am.

Waiting.

At 10am, the first ambulance arrived which couldn’t take him because “Pádraig is too tall”, with me insisting that it was their equipment and car that was “to small”. Anyhow, this is when they ordered the BUS from the Feuerwehr. Now, as we all know, the Feuerwehr is supposed to turn up in no time when you call them.

We were ready.

Waiting.

Then the second ambulance turned up, as it turned out it was the XXXL version with an extra wide stretcher to take patients of up to 250kg. No sign of the Feuerwehr. And the XXXL stretcher didn’t work for Pádraig – in case they would have had to apply the brakes in the car, Pádraig would just have slid through the straps, it was all far too wide. What would be next?

We were ready.

Waiting.

After 4pm, the third ambulance arrived, this time with a stretcher that was still far too short, but one that could just about take Pádraig.

Finally, we left the hospital.

The car itself was one of those big Mercedes vans, big enough for his feet not to stick out of the back, and even the doors closed without having to push his feet and knees up.

By the time we arrived at the apartment, it was 6pm. I spent the night getting organised again in the apartment, happy to be out of the hospital with Pádraig’s operation over, ready to start where we left two and a half weeks ago.

It’s a complete myth that Germans drink nothing else but beer. Though they do drink a  lot, much more than the Irish according to a website I found. Per capita, only the Czechs drink more beer in Europe than the Germans (107 litres) whereas the Irish are far down the list with just 779 litres, beaten even by Finland.

Yet – when you come to Germany, don’t drink beer. Become a real German and drink a Schorle. Apfelsaftschorle, to be precise. There’s nothing like it. And your German friends will look at you full of admiration, asking “do you have this in Ireland, too?” More on Schorle later…

Today there was another “First” day.

Remember, we wanted to get rid of the tubes stuck into Pádraig. The first he managed to get rid of was the tracheostomy in January. Today, following last week’s operation and a few x-rays, they blocked his catheter and told us that if he continues the way he is that we should remove the catheter altogether within a few days.

Look at this picture.

If you ever saw the side of Pádraig’s bed before, there were always tube hanging around. Tonight, it’s clear.

Although they said this a few times before, I believe that we’ll be heading back to the apartment tomorrow, after two and a half weeks. The longest I’ve ever stayed in hospital in my life. It’ll be great!

So, here is a piece with everything you ever wanted to know about Schorle and step six to germanise yourself!

Good Night!

There was a bit of action today here in the room. Some brave nurse had decided that Pádraig was going to sit in their special chair: like a wheel chair with less cushioning. So, with the help of a couple of nurses and a scared physio, I lifted Pádraig up, turned him around and sat him down into the chair. And after two hours, I did the same in reverse. You wouldn’t believe how proud I am to have been able to do this. OK, it was not a really wheelchair but it worked, meaning that we could manage, if needs be, without a lifter.

Preparations for the trial in Boston are continuing. I really cannot believe that Pat and I will be flying together to Boston in just a few days’ time. To hear all the details again.  How will we get through this. – But, there’ll be another trip in May!

Today I heard that we’re going to get some help from the Maltese Order to get Pádraig (and ourselves) to Diepholz, the most northern parting point of the special 24-hour train to Lourdes in May. It’s close to two hours’ drive from Hamburg towards the south and a fully-ledged ambulance would have been prohibitively expensive. Can’t wait for it.

Tomorrow is discharge day, if all the tests in the morning work out well. Again, fingers crossed. We’ll have to get outahere!

Today’s German Music Tip
Eric Burdon and Udo Lindenberg, Verdammpt, wir müssen raus aus dem Dreck. Probably the worst quality video on youtube, but still a great performance by two great auld rockers. The quality of this version is slightly better and older: about 35 years! (Watch out for Eric’s head band! – Who needs Woodstock if you can just watch one of Udo’s concerts?)
What’s hot
Moving, Sitting, without lifter
What’s cold
Trials
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Für’n Appel unnen Ei

We’re hanging in there, but at least I am beginning to get the hospital syndrome. You notice it when you are going out for a few minutes to a shop and the only thing you want to do is get back into the room. There is also a constant tiredness, paired with a lack of self-determination – which does not have any resemblance with life outside.

Since we have lowered the anti-seizure medication to be stopped in another couple of days, and with some time having passed since the operation, Pádraig is getting more alert again. He started to eat again and to move, at least a little bit. It really beats back home the message that we will have to try very hard to get him back into every-day “training” as soon as possible.

His scars have been healing very well and any bruising that was there is disappearing. Every operation is scary but this one, and I almost forgot this, this one was an operation we decided to go for to allow him to get rid of tube number 2. Tube number 3 will be the PEG, and if he gets back to the level of eating and drinking that he was at before the operation, that won’t take too long.

There’ll be loads of stuff happening this week and with every day that passes, it becomes more likely that the insurance company of the driver who hit Pádraig will insist that the case goes to trial, meaning that Pat and I will get off to Boston once again.

Today, a really brave nurse helped Pat and myself to first sit Pádraig up on the side of the bed, and then stand him up. At the end, it wasn’t clear who was more exhausted, Pádraig or us. But – isn’t it great that we can start doing this with him? Yes, it is “spannend”, but it must also be terribly exciting for Pádraig to be able to “stand” on his own feet again – all be it with three people helping him up!