Thursday, October 18, 2012

MISFIT ON THE MEND

A sleepy little budgie.
Our children are of the fur and feather variety, but when something happens to them I can't imagine the fear, worry, and helplessness you feel being any different if they were human.

Last Thursday morning my phone rang at work, it was Rob, he was at the vet with Misfit, emergency vet appointment, she had laid an egg, but it broke inside her, there was blood. My heart immediately starting racing, and I was so scared for the little yellow feather-head that Rob had captured over 5 years ago after she spent four months making a home out of our backyard.

Rob was overwhelmed by all the information the vet was throwing at him, we discussed options, costs, and came to a decision of what we were able to do for her. When the vet came back in the room I was put on the phone with her, and after a lengthy discussion we made a plan we were all happy with for Misfit's recovery.

Instead of leaving her overnight she was brought back home, where Rob and I both felt would be less stressful for her. She had pain medication, antibiotics and calcium to be given, orally. Oh boy, we never handle Misfit, so this was going to be a new experience.

Rob stayed home with her and I was home just a couple hours later. We were told that the next 12 hours were critical. It was heart breaking to see her so ruffled and sleepy, and we had no way to let her know that we were doing all we could for her. It was overwhelming to me to realize just how much I love this little bird. Rob and I were both emotionally exhausted when we went to bed that night.

Misfit survived the night. Rob and I were both nervous about him giving her the medication that was to start Friday morning. I had plans to go away for my annual "girls weekend ", but was having second thoughts. I left for work happy that Misfit was still with us, but with loads of worry too.

I shouldn't of worried, Rob was a superstar in taking care of her. And after he gave her, her first dose of medication, we both felt that it would be ok for me to go away for the weekend as planned. Misfit was in very capable hands.

Misfit snuggled up in a facecloth to receive her medication.
   Rob took her back to the vet on Saturday morning for a follow-up and he told me that the vet was amazed at how strong and feisty she was. We believe the time living in the back-yard contributes to this.
Misfit in the truck on her way for a follow-up visit with the vet.
 As much as I enjoyed my weekend away with the girls, it was nice to get home to my little family and check-up on Misfit. I watched Rob intently as he gave her the nightly medication, as I was going to do it on Monday, and Rob would be there to supervise.

Monday didn't go very good. I got so nervous and I was scared I was going to hurt her. After the 3rd attempt of me trying to give her the medication, which ended up with her lose flying around the room banging into things and me having a melt down, it was decided it was better for me, Rob and Misfit for Rob to continue to play nurse maid. I was so disappointed in myself.

Today, both Rob and I took Misfit to the vet for another follow-up. The vet says she is doing good, but she is not out of the woods yet. She's still on antibiotics and calcium. Once she is done the antibiotics, we will start putting the calcium in her water.

She's sleeping, a lot. In fact, in the five plus years we've had her, I have never seen her sleep so much. She's also lost a lot of weight. I'm honestly not sure if she is going to bounce back from this, but I still have hope. Every once in a while we see signs of how she was before this happened, and we hope to get back there, but if not, we're both content in the fact that we have done all we can for her.

As I type this, they are both in their cages on the table, Misfit is fast asleep, and Moonie is in his cage looking longingly up at her, he seems so sad, but that is part of the story that Rob needs to write, and I'm sure he will.   

1 comment:

Teena in Toronto said...

I hope she'll be okay. Whether they have fur or feathers, they are still our kids.