It’s late, heading towards the midnight hour in Hamburg. Just finished having a 2-hour call with a colleague and friend in the US, mostly about work, but, inevitably, also about Pádraig and how he is doing.

During that conversation I realised how complicated and complex this whole situation is. What do you answer if someone asks you “and how is Pádraig doing”?

There is the short answer. For some reason, I’m not a man for short answers. (In my first job, when I had been in Ireland for just a short time, someone asked me “how are you”. I grabbed a chair, sat down, and told him. He never asked me that question again:)

Well, how is Pádraig?

He is getting better. All the time. He has setbacks but gets over these, as he does at the moment get over the operation he had last Friday. He has made tremendous progress, really, compared to where he was after the accident. One day, I will get back to those days when doctors were confronting us with the most difficult questions you could ask a parent. When they were completely and utterly out of line. Not today. Pádraig can eat (small quantities and mashed and very smooth like stewed apple or yoghurt); he can communicate (moving his tongue, most of the time); we have heard him saying words (very few and very simple words which were very ‘breathed’, with a very low and weak ‘breathed’ voice); he can breathe by himself and without additional oxygen (most of the time); he can sit in a wheelchair for several hours without a problem; he can ‘stand’ on a tilt table for 30 minutes; he can ‘cycle’ the MOTOMed (the  machine moves his legs); he squeezes our hands at appropriate times; he smiles and (sometimes) cries at the appropriate times. All very basic things. But he is with us. And he is improving in very small steps all the time.

While he himself cannot move or control most of his body, he has been moving hundreds and thousands of people around the world. Many have been doing things they had never ever even had dreamt of – until they launched the Dreamboat and got on board.

But, above all, there have been so many people, countless, who have expressed their love in a way that must have changed them forever. In a way that they will never forget. In their lifetime. They will pass this on to their children and grandchildren. And together, they will make the world a better place.

I got a call this morning. It took a while until I realised who I was talking to. It was Pádraig’s orthodontist. He asked me to send him “Amhrán do Pádraig” posters for his practice; and he offered to look after Pádraig’s teeth, visit him, make sure they were ok. Imagine that. Think about it. That was another Dreamboater, just like yourself!

I wish I could be with you tomorrow night in person. In spirit, I will be. Pádraig will be there too. Right bang in the middle. Sticking out heads above everyone else. One of his arms high up in the air. Smiling. Sailing down the stream. Having fun. On the Dreamboat.

Nothing is impossible if you believe in it.

When I rang the UKE this morning, just to see how Pádraig had been during the night, they told me he was fine.

Then they said that if we wanted to talk to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist about Pádraig’s tracheostomy, we’d better come over immediately, because he was on his way.

When we got there after a drive that was just a tiny bit too fast, we just made it for the meeting with the ENT specialist. Turned out that we also just made to be with Pádraig when he was getting ready to be transferred back to the Schön-Klinik.

Tonight he is back in his ‘old’ room, in his ‘old’ bed. The idea of having lived in a hospital, the same hospital, for over a year. Can you imagine that?

I have decided to get onto this Dreamboat. Not because it’s trending in Dublin, but because it’s just amazing. Don’t worry if you don’t know what ‘trending’ is. I didn’t know either – just that one of Pádraig’s friends tweeted that THE DREAMBOAT IS TRENDING TONIGHT IN DUBLIN. Just behind the “jungle”.  What’s the “jungle”? Sure it wouldn’t float!?

I had doubts it would swim, I thought it would sink. Just shows you – if you believe you’re limited, you are. If you believe that anything is possible as long as you try hard enough, as long as you believe, then there won’t be any doubts, no limits!

Basically, it means that there were so many tweets about the “Dreamboat” tonight that it got into second place, just behind the jungle-get-me-out-of-here! The #Dreamboat is afloat. No doubt!

There has been another article about the launch of the #dreamboat in a national newspaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No matter what. No matter where we’ll be.

We will all be in the Grand Social on Wednesday Night. In 48 hours.

And it floated like a dream
On those waves just you and me
Is it a sign of things to come
Lets just sail and have some fun

In 48 hours.

 

 

 

 

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Wednesday, 03 December 2014, 20:00h
Grand Social, Dublin

Launch of Amhrán do Phádraig

 

Please join the Dreamboaters at the Launch of the fantastic album they put together for Pádraig. Bring your friends and family with you for a brilliant night of songs, music, and poetry.

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When you read this, please do two things:

(1) Mark the date and time (Wednesday, 03 Dec., 20h00, Grand Social) in your diary, and be there for a night of really brilliant songs, music, and poetry.

(2) Flood your social networks with news about the launch. Make this the night not to be missed! Point your friends to TheJournal.ie article about the Dreamboat and the event Facebook page. As of tonight, 178 people have signed up to be there. We can do better than this!

There is one more thing: tell The Irish Times, The Independent, The Herald, The Daily Mail, all the radio stations from RTE to Raidio na Life and Raidio RiRa, as well as the TV stations about the launch. Tell you local politicians to be there and declare their support for neuro rehab services in Ireland!

Pádraig was much better today and is clearly recovering well from the very long and tiring operations he had just two days ago. He is very stable and is becoming more aware of what is going on around him. His tracheostomy is blocked again because of the operation and he cannot use his voice – but that will change again over the next few days. They took this precautionary measure to ensure that his breathing tubes were kept clear for the operation.

I would like to write so much, tell you about Pádraig, how he is at the moment, what our hopes are for him, how we envisage life, what needs to be done, from my perspective, to help Pádraig and others in his position – and, I’m sure, one day I will.

But tonight, I am too exhausted to continue. Just too exhausted.

Below is a message from Andrew to the Dreamboaters. Although the point on tonight’s meeting comes too late for anyone who wanted to join in the rehearsals, I thought it would still be worthwhile reading it because I think it is such a wonderful testament to what Pádraig’s friends are doing for him – and, in case you were hesitating, it’ll give you 1,001 reasons to forget whatever you had planned to do on Wednesday night and join the coolest launch of the most brilliant CD in the Grand Social.

Be there and bring your family, your friends, your neighbours, anyone that crosses your way between now and Wednesday. Don’t forget to tweet, tweet, tweet about the #Dreamboat and #AmhranDoPhadraig or #SongForPadraig. “Like” the event of Facebook and send invites to all – yes, ALL – of your friends!!!

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ENGLISH BELOW

Dia dhaoibh a chairde,

Tá muid shroichte. Deireadh turais fada . Críoch bhrionglóid álainn. Tús nua! Tá seoladh oifigiúil an albaim, libh go léir ag canadh air, dar ndóigh, ag teacht an chéadaoin beag seo. Níl ach seachtain againn! Toisc gur tamaill fada é ó a bhíomar ag seinm agus ag canadh le chéile tá cleachtadh amháin eile le bheith againn ionas go mbeimid in ann an slua a WOWáil ar an gcéadaoin… agus leis an fhírinne a rá airím uaim sibh! An gcuimhníonn sibh an spraoi dochreidte ‘s banter álainn a bhí againn ag tús mí iúil? Ní dhéanfaidh mé dearmad riamh air! Seo ár ndeis é a bheith againn don uair deirneach riamh … sa Chonradh ag 7.30 an domhnach beag seo. Le bhur dtoill bígí ann! Tá níos mó ná cleachtadh i gceist leis. Tá sé tábhachtach go mbuaileann muid le chéile leis an spiorad ceart a cruthú, an fuinneamh a fháil ar ais, agus muid fhéin a dhíriú isteach ar an bhfeachtas poiblíochta atáimid chun cur i idir an deireadh seachtain ‘s oíche chéadaoin.

Mar sin, seo plean na crinnithe. Breathnaigh air, bí ag smaoineamh agus bí réidh le do smaoineamh a roinnt ar an oíche, má tá aon agat.

1: Cleachtadh amhráin – Ní thógfaidh sé seo ró-fhada. Chaitheamar go leor ama air cheanna féin. ach bheadh sé go deas é a bheith go maith ar an oíche. Aon smaointí agaibh snas a chur leis!?

2: Beidh ceoil eile ar an oíche (na hamhráin eile atá ar an albam agus amhráinithe ó éinne eile atá ag iarraidh – grúpa traid) Má tá tú ag iarraidh rud éigin a sheinm ar an oíche, nó má tá tú ag iarraidh trad a sheinm le na ceoilteoirí ar an dlúthdhiosca is féidir é a phlé agus cleachtadh beag a dhéanamh!

3: Labhairt faoi feachtas poiblíocht. Tá muid anois ag fáil poiblíocht. Beidh alt sa Herald amárach faoi liom fhéin ag labhairt (bfhéidir Aoine). Tá alt ó Maitiú agus Reinhard ag teacht amach sa Journal.ie. Tá alt san Irish Times website faoi ag teacht ar an deireadh seachtaine. Tá an Daily Mail ag scríobh faoi. Agus tá súil againn go mbeidh rud éigin san Indo chomh maith.

Tá roinnt ard tagtha air ar Raidio na Gaeltachta, Raidio na Life agus Tá Maitiú le bheith ag labhairt faoi ar cúpla clár eile. Ach tá níos mó ag teastáil . Le ard a tharaingt air, agus ar an launch táimid ag iarraidh go ndírfidh gach éinne isteach air ar líne (ach go háirithe Twitter) ag aon am amháin – Deirim Oíche / Tráthnóna Luain – ionas go mbeidh sé trending. Ansin piocfaidh na meáin suas air níos mó. Chomh maith le sin cabhróidh sé má táimid ag roinnt links ó na haltanna a bheidh thuas ar líne.

Chomh maith le seo – tá níos mó poiblíocht ag teastáil le chinntiú go mbeidh slua an-mhór ag an seoladh oíche chéadaoin… a thógann mé go dtí mo phointe dheirneach

4: Oíche Chéadaoin. Más féidir linn brú an-mhór a chur ar dhaoine teacht bheadh sé go hálainn. Má thógann gach dream-boater beirt, sin 60 ar a laghad cheanna féin. Táimid ag iarraidh send-off ceart a dhéanamh agus an deis is fearr a thabhairt dúinn fhéin ar son Phádraig! Smaoinigh ar an bhfuinneamh atá curtha isteach againn go léir faoin am seo! Caithfimid seoladh ceart a bheith againn. Scaip an scéal, cuir fáilte roimh bhur gcairde ó obair / scoil / ón sráid!

Seo muid réigh.

Feicfimid sibh ar an Domhnach, tá súil agam.

Roinn. Samhlaigh. Déan do dhícheal ar son ár gcara nach bhfuil ann go fóill. Pádraig abú

http://www.amhrandophadraig.com

Andrew

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Hello all, again…

We have finally arrived. The end of a very long journey is here. The end of a beautiful dream. And a new beginning is coming. The official launch of the album, with all of you singing on it of course, is coming up next Wednesday. We only have a week. Seeing as it has been such a long time since we all sang together we have decided to have one last practice, for the good old times, and so that we can WOW the crowd on Wednesday… and to be honest, I miss you all. Do you remember the incredible fun and amazing banter we had at the beginning of July. I will never forget it. This is our opportunity to dream it all up again as Bono himself said once. … So … for the last time, in the Conradh at 7.30 this Sunday, we will meet. Please Please be there. There is much more than practice on the agenda. It is important that we all meet up to create and re-find our spirit, to re-energise and to focus in on a publicity campaign that we are going unleash on the nation from the weekend to Wednesday .

And so, the meeting plan – Please look at it, think about it and be ready with any suggestions

1:Practice the song – This will not take too long. We spent a lot of time on it already, but that said it’d be nice to have it down on the night . Any ideas on polishing it?

2: There will be more music on the night (the other songs from the album and songs from anyone else that would like) – perhaps trad players would like to play a few tunes together. If you would like to play anything on the night let us know, or get together and practice on Sunday.

3: Talk about Publicity Campaign . We are now getting attention in the media. There will be an article in the Herald tomorrow or on Friday.. Maitú and Reinhard have pieces for the Irish times online coming out at the weekend. There is a piece coming out in the journal. There is going to be a piece in the Daily Mail. We hope the Indo are going to cover it also. .

It has received a lot of attention on Raidio na Gaeltachta and Raidio na Life and Maitiu is going to be speaking on a few other programmes. . But we need more. In order to draw attention to it, and the Launch… we need to focus in on it online and on the English language media also (especially on Twitter) at the same time. This is going to be a coordinated effort, now. probably Monday Evening.. we need to get the launch and the song trending. Then, the media will pick up on it more.

We need to ensure that there will be a big crowd at the launch on Wednesday… which takes me to my last point

4: Wednesday night. If we can all put huge pressure on everyone we know, that’d be amazing. . If every dream-boater were to bring two people, that is 60 already at least. We want a proper send off for this. We want to give ourselves, and thus – Pádraig the best opportunity. Think about all the effort and energy you have already put in. We must launch this big shtyle. Spread the word, invite your mates from school / work / the street.

Here we go.

We will see you Sunday, I hope.

Share. Imagine. Do your utmost for our friend who isn’t here, yet. Up Pádraig!!

http://www.amhrandophadraig.com

Andrew

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Pádraig had three visitors over from Dublin tonight – well, two from Dublin and one who had travelled overnight on the long distance bus Marseilles – Oslo from Brussels (going back tonight). I really can’t find words to express my admiration for what Pádraig’s friends are doing for him. It is just amazing.

Talking about amazing things – the journal.ie tonight posted an update on Pádraig, the Dreamboat, and the launch of the album. It was posted just about two hours ago. A few minutes ago, when I checked, it had 10.444 views.

When we left Pádraig tonight, he was doing well. He is breathing on his own again, and while there was still some bleeding following the operation the day before yesterday, the doctors in the UKE say that they are not worried about it, and that it will stop. He is still in ICU and will remain there at least for the weekend which is good – he really is being look after there very well. We know that if anything unforeseen should happen, he’ll get the best of care provided by whatever specialist doctor might be needed.

Tomorrow is going to be the first of advent: four weeks of hope and expectation.

From around the world, people connected by their friendship and love for Pádraig have been sending their best wishes and prayers to him over the past few days. He knows that he is in the best company anybody could ever wish and hope for, in the company of so many people, especially so many amazing young people, who are offering him their strong, strong support – the kind that is like water under the keel of his dreamboat.

Please invite your friends and family to next Wednesday’s launch of the song, Dreamboat, and the CD, Amhrán do Phádraig, in Dublin’s Grand Social Club at 8pm!

Here is the (very rough) line-up for the launch:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Thank you to Eoin for the poster!)

Today, they had started before we even knew. He is always last in the operating theatre, normally. Not today. They brought him down to the operating theatre by 11:30am. It took a long time for him to come back at around 4:30. A long time.

The operation was a success, just a small issue with a catheter they fixed. He is on a respirator but they have already started to wean him off. He has opened his eye and so far is keeping well.

It was a long day, with loads of flash backs from the days of almost a year ago.

I am feeling emptied, drained physically. But it’s over and done.

This was his last big operation. It’ll take him some days to get fully over it. But Pádraig has taken the first big step. He’ll get through his, no bother. I told him that this morning I signed the rental agreement for the bigger apartment he’ll be moving into with us in just a few weeks time. Really, none of us can wait for the day.

Thank you for all your thoughts, good wishes, tweets, messages, prayers, and candles. Thank you.

17 months.

The last few days were so busy that the date never registered. It was the 27th of June of last year when the 4.3 ton van, driven by a local man, hit Pádraig on what we now know has been a well-known local accident black-spot for a long time on Route 6A in Brewster.

17 months.

It is also Thanksgiving.

Nuair a bhíonn rudaí tábhachtacha, a chairde Pádraig ar labhairt na Gaeilge. – I had to do a Department of the Gaeltacht Irish Government job on this and resort to an automatic translation programme to read and reply to the messages by Pádraig’s friends (no, I have not forgotten about the promise of making another effort to learn Gaeilge:). But it is really amazing to see how language connects people, reaffirms who they are and what they stand for. In my life (and it’s been a long life:), I haven’t seen or experienced such a strong bond.

The day started well. Pat arrived just before 2am, with 15 minutes of “Verspätung” – a word completely unheard of in German train stations (in ‘my time’ trains were never ever late, but “pünktlich”). It gave me time to check out the 24-hour McDonalds in the train station – Wahnsinn.

Feeling my way through the darkness, guided by a beating heart. I can’t tell where the journey will end, but I know where to start. They tell me I’m too young to understand, they say I’m caught up in a dream. Well, life will pass me by if I don’t open up my eyes.

Hope I get the chance to travel the world, but I don’t have any plans. Wish that I could stay forever this young, not afraid to close my eyes. Life’s a game made for everyone and love is the prize.

So wake me up when it’s all over. When I’m wiser and I’m older. All this time I was finding myself and I didn’t know I was lost.

That’s what the radio was playing this morning when I was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for the plumbers. (They did arrive just after 7am and were gong by 7:50am.) – If you are in the right state of mind even the songs on the radio have a ‘meaning’.

A lot done, more to do. Even Dublin Bus got the message. (Ok, the picture is s few years old and the guy pictured on the bus in the centre isn’t half as popular as he once used to be.)

I was finishing up some work. Pat went to the hospital early. When I got in at around 3pm, they were a bit behind schedule, but planning to bring Pádraig up to the operating theatre within half an hour. That didn’t happen.

And then, at around 5pm or so, they cancelled the operation. There had been delays and emergencies in the operation theatre and it had just got too late.

You can just imagine how we all felt. Anticlimax is not the word. Wake me up when it’s all over.

But there is More to do. Tomorrow. Another part of the journey. Humming the Dreamboat. Dam, dadadadaa, dadada dam.

Tonight, 16 months ago, we were in such a shock that we barely ate or drank or slept. For weeks. Tonight, tonight, Pádraig is with us. And he is getting better. Humming the Dreamboat. It’s floating like a dream. Sailing down the stream. He believes. (And I have lost my doubts.)

Don’t forget to keep this coming Wednesday free for the launch of the Amhrán do Pádraig / Song for Pádraig CD, at 8pm, in the Grand Social, Dublin. 152 friends have confirmed they’ll be there. Keep tweeting about it, put it up on your FB pages, and tell everyone to be there – otherwise they’ll be missing out on one of the best Music CD launches ever!

Ireland has Katie Taylor. The Ukraine have Володи́мир Володи́мирович Кличко́ (or: Wladimir Klitschko). We have been watching Katie all week long after her winning another gold medal. More about Wladimir later.

There is a very small leak on our bathroom radiator but it will require a big job to fix it, the man who arrived here at 7am this morning. So he will have to come back. Yes, you guessed it! He will be back, tomorrow morning, 7am. He might have to change the whole radiator.

I became all German this morning and arrived bang on time, at 9:30 on Pádraig’s ward. First news was that there was a delay in the UKE, they might not take him today at all and the ambulance that was going to take him had been cancelled. But then at 10am, word got through (well, they rang) that it was a go. They ordered another ambulance. It arrived just after noon.

Of course, Pádraig did not fit onto the stretcher and when they had finally managed to get the stretcher into the ambulance, they couldn’t close the door. I could, I really could write the script for this movie. So they lifted up his knees a bit until they managed to close the door eventually. The driver, with an Eastern European accent, asked me how tall Pádraig is. When I said: 2.04m, he answered: oh, just like Klitschko. To which I answered: yes, but Pádraig’s arms are longer than Klitschko’s. He: oh!

We took the grand tour. Even leaving the grounds of the Schön-Klinik took almost 10 minutes. And then the driver decided, in honour of Klitschko I suppose, to show us the canals, lakes, and cobble stoned streets of Hamburg. I don’t know Hamburg, but I could have done this trip without the cobble stones and in half the time.

The UKE is like a city in its own right. It has its own roads, its own power station, and a huge amount of buildings.

I had forgotten what it is like to arrive on a ward. It’s an ICU and they were getting ready to suction, that’s what they do when they hear a gargling noise. It’s like a reflex. Nurses must be born with this. We had a good talk, one surgeon after the other came in to explain the procedures, the anaesthetist went through the risks of a full blown general anaesthetic. I had to sign three forms plus one declaring that we are happy for Pádraig’s bone plate to be used to research the reasons why bone plates at times do not re-join with the skull.

When I left the hospital, I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay because I know that Pádraig is so alert now that he knows that he is not in his usual place, that no-one knows him where he is now, and that they are planning this operation on him for tomorrow.

We’ll go there tomorrow morning to make sure all is ok with Pádraig. But before, I’ll pick up Pat from the train station at 1:30am (she just got into Frankfurt – the only affordable and suitable connection from Dublin this evening, and is catching a train north).

Pádraig knows that there are people all over the world thinking of him every day, and especially tonight. He knows that you are sharing your strength, your prayers, your best wishes, your hope, your energy with him. He knows that he’ll get out of this at the other end and that by the end of the week or early next week, it’ll all be a thing of the past, and he’ll feel so much better.

Is it past or is it passed? Or is it both? Past and Passed? That’s where the spelling checkers ain’t working anymore. It’d be really interesting to write (or is it “right”, or both?) a piece just about tricking the spell checker (chequer?).

In any case – the first hurdle is passed. It’s in the past, more accurately: this morning. At 10am on the dot (well, he *is* German:) the door bell rang and the pre-inspector of our apartment got in – with his laptop and, wait, his printer! As you can imagine, we had spent all weekend shopping for all sorts of cleaning utensils and then scrubbing our knuckles off to get the place as clean as a whistle (Google also suggested: as clean as a “gold pants” or “a hound’s tooth” – not sure about either of those two:). At the end of the inspection, he had nothing to point out that had to be fixed but, nonetheless, proceeded to print out two copies of a four page report (a page a room: kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms) stating, more or less, just that. He was carrying a big black bag which must have been full of blank sheets, in case there had been anything to be fixed in the apartment. The ‘one page a room’ report for nothing to be fixed would surely have gone up considerably in that case. I duly signed his copy, he signed mine, we exchanged them, I immediately filed it away in the special filing folder they had given me when we moved in last December (I’ll soon have to ask them for another folder if the paper work keeps coming at this rate). Anyway…

Also got a call in the afternoon to arrange an appointment to sign the contract . No time lost here. It’ll be Friday morning. Isn’t that great news!

Tomorrow morning: 7am appointment with a plumber to check a leak in the bathroom – it was him who proposed it, what could I do?! 9h30 check in at the Schön-Klinik for a 10am transfer to the UKE.

By the way – have you emailed you family and friends about Amhrán do Pádraig / Song for Pádraig? Have you put it up on your FB? Have you tweeted about it? No? – Tonight it had 866 views on youtube! Tell everybody: family, friends, journalists, DJs, everybody – and join the 122 already signed up friends who will be at the launch of the year on 03 December, 8p, Grand Social, Dublin!

Pádraig was good today with our usual routine of getting out of bed, going for a walk on the roof terrace, getting a bite to eat, some exercise and back into bed.

Keep thinking about Pat’s cousin, his wife and his family. His body is still in Nepal awaiting an autopsy. It’ll apparently be about two weeks before his family can bring him home.

Monday. A new week. Wohnungsvorabnahmeprüfungstermin tomorrow, 10am. Ride in an ambulance to Universitätskrankenhaus Eppendorf (UKE) on Wednesday morning. Operation on Thursday. Then fingers crossed that nothing happens over the weekend. Back to the Schön-Klinik some time next week.

I can’t say I’m looking forward to the UKE. I have a bit of a ‘hangover’ from that place and, to be honest, it is the wrong time of the year. Pádraig went there last year, just a few weeks later. All routine stuff, they said. I hope nobody will mention the word ‘routine’ ever again. It sends shivers down my spine.

On the bright side: Dreamboat is being watched all over the world and people are in awe of Pádraig’s friends. And they are right. If anyone ever wondered about ‘the meaning of life’, show them this video. And then give them the CD as a present. And finally, make them join the launch of the Amhrán do Pádraig / Song for Pádraig album on 03 Dec, 8 pm, in Dublin’s Grand Social. It’ll be an amazing and inspiring night!

There are things that we worry about. ‘Important’ stuff that grabs our attention and doesn’t let go. Fashion. Beauty. Headlines. Wars. Money. Jobs. Take your pick. Go down into the supermarket and wonder what on earth people are going to do with all this ‘stuff’. Check out any of the clothing shops and wonder how many trousers or skirts one can wear. So many reduced bargains shouting at you: buy me, buy me, buy me.

None of this matters.

What matters are the people you care about. Those that have the ‘time of their life’ with you. Those you dance with, sing with, laugh with, relax with. Those that will do whatever it takes to help you when you need them most. Those that you will help no matter what ‘important business’ you’re involved in at the moment.

That is the meaning of life.

This afternoon, we heard that one of Pat’s cousins passed away today suddenly and completely unexpected. He had gone to Nepal for kayaking and trekking. We’re not sure exactly what happened but it seems that he fell ill and did not recover from whatever it was that eventually brought him down. He was my age. He was active, adventurous, full of life, witty, and funny. He really enjoyed life with his family and friends. None of us can believe that he won’t be any longer with us. From one moment to the next he is gone. My thoughts are with his wife, children, brothers, sister, and his mother. May he rest in peace. And, we won’t forget him. Ever. He’ll live in our memory and be with us. Forever.

Numbers.

Just read a report by someone saying that he woke up this morning at 6h24 am, having slept 7 hours and 39 minutes, interrupted by two being-awake periods of 14 minutes in total, with a blood pressure of 120/80 and a heartbeat of 74.

He had burnt up 2,347 calories over the previous 24-hour period and taken in 1,949 calories, 44% of which were carbs, 37% fat, 19% protein.

He is one of those 4.5m people who during the first half of this year started to wear one of those bracelets that are not bracelets but fitness-trackers.

Numbers.

When I read his account, I thought about what they are doing with Pádraig in the hospital. His vital signs are measured non-stop. Numbers. There is no nurse in his room. They stick their head in from time to time to administer medicines or check on water and liquid food. They also turn him to make sure he doesn’t get any bed sores. The only other time they come in is when his heartbeat goes up over a set level, or his oxygen levels go down beyond a set level – and the alarms go off left, right, and centre.

Sometimes I think the future has arrived when I see people being transformed into numbers that are used to capture what and who they are, when it seems that measurable vital signs have replaced the immeasurable complexity of a human being.

6699 were Pádraig’s signs today: 66 heart beat, 99 oxygen level. These are not just really solid figures, but also interesting ones: you can turn them upside down and they’re still the same.

It was great to have some visitors in over the weekend. Pádraig really and visibly enjoyed the chat in his room and when an old pal rang, Pádraig made such a big effort to talk. No measurements captured this, no amount of numbers could describe what this meant to all of us in the room and on the other side of the telephone line back in Ireland. Even if Pádraig’s efforts were not yet as successful as he (and us) would have liked, it was the effort that counted. The rest will just come one day.

Pádraig will be transferred to the UKE on Wednesday to have an operation on Thursday replacing his bone plate with an artificial one which doctors hope to be able to join much better with his skull. He’ll be there for a week, that is the plan at least, and then get back to the Schön-Klinik for a bit over another month then.

I keep listening to the Dreamboat. Please post the Dreamboat on FB and keep tweeting about it!