Whether you prefer the CSNY version of Eight Miles High or the almost incomprehensible 10 minute long Byrds version (one comment about that said: “I was kicked off football team in southern Ohio in 1968 for listening to the Byrds…lol…”) or the civilised 3 minute one  – we were way above those eight miles today here in Pforzheim – I know, if you look at the picture below it doesn’t look that high.

I promised myself never to complain about Irish weather ever again! Can’t do much about it anyway, apart from emigrating, and there’re plenty of other reasons wanting you to emigrate (but also to stay:).

Not being either Englishmen or mad dogs, we stayed indoors for most of the day. Even moved down to the therapy rooms from our boiling ‘penthouse’ apartment for a while to give Pádraig a run on the MOTOMed and to do some exercises we don’t get a chance of doing during the day.

I was thinking today that what I am writing about every night has probably changed an awful lot over the years: there were times when I was utterly disoriented, not knowing where I belonged, where we belonged, whether Pádraig was going to survive, when I couldn’t imagine how my life would continue, how we could help Pádraig regaining some control over his life, how to deal with all that sadness.

The feeling of desperation now is probably more about the need to constantly having to explain in Ireland that Pádraig and others like him need help. I mean – the HSE, the government, the professionals KNOW that! And then the need to find funding and to implement a pilot project! Come on guys! – An then there are the daily moments of desperation, they come out of nowhere, just like that…

Germany surprises.

There is the weather – today it’s 31 degrees celsius in Pforzheim and my weather app is telling me that it will get even hotter tomorrow.

Then there is the way they look after people with a severe acquired brain injury. One family who is here with their son told me that this is the level of therapy their son receives per week when they are at home (note that a ‘unit’ is 45 minutes) – I know every injury and every person is different, but their son and Pádraig are not that far apart. The way it works is that their GP prescribes the therapy and their public health insurance pays, with them selecting the therapists. It’s similar to what Pádraig received in Hamburg and what I had passed on to the NRH when they asked me what treatment Pádraig required.

• Physiotherapy: 3 units
• Physio ATG (Atemgymnastik – Breathing): 4 units
• Speech and Language Therapy: 2 units
• Occupational Therapy: 3 units
• TOTAL: 12 units

In Dublin, we couldn’t get the specialists in the NRH’s National Brain Injury Programme to tell us how many hours of therapy Pádraig requires.

I know, we won’t be able to change the weather. But there are things we can change.

We want to achieve a few things while in Pforzheim. We’re working on all of them all the time. Pádraig amongst all of us works the hardest on these goals. Today, we achieved one: Pádraig managed to walk across the room with just me and his physio assisting him!

What a wonderful achievement!

Can’t believe that the first week here in Pforzheimis is over already. Hope Pádraig will continue recovering at the same pace for the rest of our time here. And really proof all of those who wanted to decide over his life wrong.

All the best for the other Irish family here who’ll be leaving tomorrow for Ireland!

If you’ve ever been in Germany you might have come across the Rat-haus, the Rat-skeller, the Rat-hausplatz and all sorts of other rat- places.

That’s were we went today. We sat in the shadow of the Rat-haus having a beer at the Pforzheim Beerfestival. It was the last night of Pádraig’s physio from Ireland being in Pforzheim and the second last night of the other Irish family staying here.

It was a fun afternoon in the sun with loads of activities – all that after a series of intensive therapy sessions in the morning.

An almost perfect day!

Which is the best system?

Here is the answer to the question that must have been bothering you for a long time.

Pádraig and I came across this graffiti when we were on our way to the annual Pforzheim Beerfest – which, it turned out, will be kicked of tomorrow, rather than today as we had thought…

So we had to resort to plan B and settle for a beer garden.

We: Pádraig and his physio who is spending a week with us at the rehab centre as well as the other Irish family who is here at the moment (until this coming Saturday). We had a wonderful, very therapeutic afternoon, practicing all those activities of daly living (ADL) that are so essential for everybody in rehab. It was brilliant and to me felt like a big change in the rehab system we’ve got used to and have accepted as the norm.

System change. Practiced. Al fresco. – Good vibes and happy faces. What more could you wish for?

Most times, Padraig opens just one of his eyes, the left one. Today, while he was having a short break from an early therapy session, he opened the two of his eyes, both of them. I don’t yet fully understand what the reason for opening both eyes is, but I guess it must have got something to do with his energy levels and the attention he is paying to what is going on around him.

It was our second day today and Pádraig’s second day of walking. While it was a little new a more difficult yesterday, today the ‘walk’ went much smoother and we began to develop a ‘feeling’ for balance and coordination: Pádraig himself, myself holding him from the back and a therapist moving his feet. Meaning that with the help of just two people, Pádraig can walk.

Tonight we had an early farewell dinner for another Irish family who’ll be leaving Pforzheim this coming weekend to go back home. They had ordered in an Irish stew which we all enjoyed this evening.

Also talked to a German family today about the therapies their son is getting, who is in a similar place as Pádraig. The short answer is: 9 units of therapy, including physio for his lungs, special neuro physio, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. And there is no limit to that. It’s prescribed by his local GP and the public health insurer pays for it.

You’d be forgiven to think “Peng” is a Chinese name (I think it is), but in Germany ‘Peng” is what a balloon ‘says’ when you stick a needle into it. Which is what Angela Merkel did to the opposition leader and their leading candidate Martin Schulz over the past few weeks. The way all this was translated into the title of the latest edition of the Stern magazine is really brilliant, I think. And the expressions on the faces of the two contenders are just priceless.

I’d like to stick a needle into this balloon that says ‘rehab for sABI survivors is a waste of scarce resources’ and deflate it. It’s an argument that was used in Germany 25 years ago when a father set up a hospital to help his young daughter to recover from her severe brain injury.

And recover she did. PENG!

Pádraig had a brilliant and eventful day. His physio from Ireland is here too working with us for a week. It’s such a positive, can-do approach, hard work, huge efforts – but great return.

Sure what else would you have but a Schwarzwälderkirschtortenstück in the Black Forest?

All meaning that we arrived. We got here. Exhausted but ok. We had what the Germans call “Abendbrot” the term itself indicating the distance between German and irish evening meals. But we all enjoyed it a lot. Pádraig had some especially minced meal, followed by a piece of cake, followed by a few strawberries, followed by a full glass of Apfelschorle.

We met the other Irish family that is here at the moment, leaving at the end of the coming week having that Abendbrot. It was good to catch up and to hear how they had been getting on.

Pádraig then had a shower and went off to bed, to rest before an early start and a busy day tomorrow. We’re about to follow him!

Paris – oh Paris! To be honest, we are a little bit in the not-so-attractive outskirts right beside a motorway in an IBIS Budget ‘hotel’.

Just now we managed to sit down (thought there isn’t really that much space in our ‘room’ to sit down:) and we are absolutely and completely exhausted.

So it’s ‘bon soir’ for now!

En route to France on the Oscar Wilde whose cabin doors, as it turns out, are just that little bit too narrow for a wheelchair.

Though they made an exception and gave Pádraig, just this time, a special cabin at no extra charge – just this time. Not sure what we’ll do on the return trip…

We’re just loosing sight of land so I’ll better post this now!

Ahoi, Dreamboaters!

PS: news about today’s viewing of “An Saol on Sea” and, separately, of our meeting with the HSE tomorrow. – All good and exciting stuff!