Birdie Saga

On the last day of November, my pet cockatiels, Jazzy and Ella, went to their new home.

September, 2010, my health started to deteriorate. I was tired all the time, and I had many colds through the winter. I gave up choir last November because I didn’t have the breath any more, and I was too tired to go out in the evenings. I also gave up the LWML group meetings because of tiredness. At some point, I was unable to do the grocery shopping by myself because carrying the bags in from the car taxed my energy for a couple of days. I’d shop on the weekend so the hubby could carry the bags. I stopped my usual habit of a daily walk, again because it wore me out. I didn’t garden in 2010 or 2011 from lack of energy. By early this year, I was pretty much housebound, and just happy to make it to church regularly.

In February, I started going to another naturopath to see why I was so tired. He worked with my regular naturopath to help us figure out what was going on. He said I had a pretty heavy intestinal infection (that would explain the pain) and a fungal infection in my sinuses. I started on some supplements and immune boosters, changed my diet, and finally the infections cleared up. My energy levels never did recover the way he thought they should, and wondered if there was something else “weighing me down.”

Then in August of this year, I caught a cold that just didn’t seem to go away. It wasn’t very severe, but just kept nagging me. In discussing it with my regular naturopath she suggested I increase the immune boosters to help the body fight it off. It was later that day in bending down to tie my shoes that I felt the familiar sinus infection pain. In increasing the immune boosters, the infection went away, but the congestion and sneezing, etc., never did go away. I wondered one day if it could be an allergy to the birds. I looked it up on the internet and realized all my symptoms fit what is called “breeders lung.” I was in shock! I would have to get rid of the birds!

I had been feeling a bit overwhelmed for a while with the birds. I was always so tired, and cockatiels need outside entertainment, unlike other parrots who can entertain themselves. And, although I wasn’t neglecting them, I had not been paying them as much attention as when I got Jazzy. A year ago, Jazzy turned two and started screaming, as I have mentioned in other posts. Given my overly sensitive “music-industry” ears, his screams pierced through any attempts to ignore it, or get used to it. And when they got less than optimal attention, the screaming was more frequent. It just all made me sad and, even before I knew of the allergy, I wondered if I should, for their sakes, consider giving them up.

I phoned H from the pet store, knowing either she or K, the assistant manager, would know someone who could take the birds, and who would care for Ella in particular, given her health situation that had not completely resolved. H asked her sister and she said she was willing to look at them. The sisters came over that evening. H took Jazzy and he started blowing her kisses. He has always recognized her, even when we just mention her name. He only has “kisses” for her – other sounds for other people at the pet store, but only one particular sound for H. I held Ella for a bit, and then passed her to H sister. I liked how the birds reacted to her, and how she reacted to the birds. They stayed quite a while, and then the H sister said she would take them. We agreed to a price for the cage, playcentre and toys, a date to come and pick them up, and then they left.

And I cried for the week until they returned. It had all come about so quickly, it was shocking. Even though they (mostly Jazzy) had annoyed me with the screaming regularly, I just loved the little things and was heartbroken to let them go. I knew it was for the best for my health, and in my current condition, was not providing the ideal home for them.

The day the birds left, I held it together while the sisters were at our house, but after they left, I lost it again. I posted on Facebook that my birds had gone to their new home. I friended H sister and she has posted pictures and updated me. H sister had 5 other birds before taking my two, and several cats, one of which she renamed Cookie, because I told her Jazzy would call all her cats Cookie anyway.

Most people understood how for the sake of my health, I felt it necessary to give the birds away. But the tone I got from one of my friends, N, was a bit accusatory. She has been allergic to cats for the almost 30 years I have known her, and she still has cats. Her thought was – and I know others who hold the same view – once you get a pet, you’re morally responsible for keeping them, no matter what, until they die. To a point, I understand her reasoning. A pet is not just a designer lifestyle choice that you can change because it no longer suits you. But this was a matter of health. I just want to do the usual things of life again. Is it too much to ask to be able to go for a walk again, or even, dare I hope, to rejoin the choir? I reminded her that she was healthy in the first place – I am not. A “simple allergy” has a greater impact for me because of my compromised immune system.

Jazzy and Ella are bonding with their new flock – people and pets. The one bird H sister already had has bonded with both of them. Jazzy has bonded with H sister’s roommate, and Ella is bonding with H sister. I’m very happy to hear that. Even without people in the house, they have plenty of birds to entertain them and keep them happy. And, I am starting to notice a difference in my allergy symptoms. The “smoker’s cough” I was developing is starting to subside. The itchy numbness around my nose and mouth is diminishing. The nasal congestion is improving, although I still sneeze and blow my nose a lot. I think the eyes are going to take a while to clear. However, it’s progress, and I’m glad for it.

I miss the little things a lot. I miss the “hello’s” I heard so frequently through the day, or the "I'll be right back" when I got out of my chair. I miss playing with them and the routine of having them sit on me and preen first thing in the morning. I miss feeding them people food off my plate. I miss the singing and whistling, and the wing exercises. I miss Jazzy chattering away to my feet. I miss their unique personalities. I don’t know if Cookie misses them yet or not. He’s enjoying the extra attention I’m giving him, but every so often he’s somewhat grumpy too – so I’m sure he misses them somewhat. But, for me, especially after the heavy wheezing attack I had while dusting the day after they left, I know I did the best thing for them, and for me. I will get over my mourning, and it is made easier knowing they have an excellent home.

Until next time, enjoy your pets…

Migraines!

I hate migraines! Before migraines became part of my life in my mid-twenties, I rarely had even headaches. I suffered a severe sunstroke when I was eight and after that for about 10 years, whenever I stayed in the sun too much, I would get a headache. As long as I wore a hat, I very rarely had headaches.

And then I got married and my true headache experience began! Teehee. It seems my system was leading up to having migraines anyway, but going on the pill tipped it over the edge. Going off the pill did not stop the migraines. In those days, there were times I had to go to the emergency room to get a shot of something to stop the vomiting. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen any more. But I still have nausea with a migraine and sometimes, I still throw up.

I’ve changed what I do when I get a migraine. I have recognized that it’s like my digestive system just shuts off when the pain comes, so I just don’t eat. If there is nothing in there, there’s nothing to throw back. Sometimes, the nausea is so extreme, I can’t even drink tea. However, usually, I drink lots of green tea until I feel like eating, and then eat as much as I dare until the head pain passes. My digestion is usually delicate for at least one day after that, and sometimes up to a week later. There are certain foods that seem to be hard for me to digest on a good day, so I avoid them until the digestion is completely happy again. It keeps me from regaining the weight I lost a couple of years ago with the parasite infection, but at least I don’t throw up. I hate that almost as much as migraines.

There are times when I awaken in an exhausted state. This means there will be a doozy of a migraine coming within an hour or so. Usually, I just sleep for hours until I’m able to stay awake. There is then no thought of food or drink during those times. These migraines, although not always, are often when I have eaten corn in some form and not known about it. I have had corn migraines that have lasted 10 days, but not sleeping the entire time. I’m usually begging the Lord to take me from this earth by the 5th or 7th day – selfish crybaby that I am.

Over the past four months, I have had a higher number of migraines than usual. I’ve become quite the detective with my health over the years. It has been necessary to determine what causes pain and migraines. It gets frustrating when it takes some time to figure out a health issue, including migraines. In February, I started going to a second naturopath to help with the extremely low energy. He changed many of my supplements, and they seemed to work for a time. But the migraines that started 4 months ago were caused by some of the herbs in first one supplement, and then a second. I stopped taking them, and replaced one but haven’t replaced the second. I’m not sure how that will affect my long-term health.

Most recently, I have discovered there are a number of organic meats that are causing migraines. About 7 years ago, I did extensive research to find a supplier of organic meat that didn’t cause reactions. One would think just eating organic meat would be enough, but no – I’m weird that way. At first, I thought it was corn-fed meat causing the problem, but that is not the case. The clue was that I could eat out – chicken or beef – at a restaurant with no ill-effects. Non-organically raised chicken is most definitely corn-fed because it’s the cheapest feed. Instead, I discovered it is soy-fed meat that causes trouble, as well as grass-fed beef.

So, the meat market where I bought all my meat is now a problem. They’ve switched their beef source to grass-fed, even though the owner promised me they wouldn’t. Now the only meat I can buy there is lamb because this lamb producer feeds them peas instead. I’m glad! I eat a LOT of meat! Vegetables, and legumes can cause me problems, but I can almost always eat meat. Especially when I’m “rebuilding” after a migraine, I will eat meat for lunch and dinner. I eat a lot of nuts too, but usually reserve that for breakfast with fruit.

Now I have to research and test all over again to find another “safe” source of a variety of meat. This means the migraines will likely continue for a while as I test new sources. I have been eating non-organic meat for about two weeks, and at first didn’t notice any difference. However, I’ve started just feeling a bit “unwell” and I have a constant pain in my lower abdomen for the past few days. Don’t know if it’s caused by this meat, but think it will only complicate matters to continue over the long haul. It would be nice because it is cheaper and easily available, and it doesn’t cause migraines!

Until next time, wait patiently upon the Lord…

Christ in Christmas

Back a couple of months ago, the hubby found a Youtube video of an a cappella (no instruments) group that he found to have quite amazing skill. He discovered they were the winners of a reality-show competition called “The Sing-Off.” He found out they were just about to start Season 3, so checked if it was broadcast on any of our cable channels. He found the two-hour show at 8 pm on Monday evenings on a US station that we get. So, we’ve been watching it. Last night was the final episode.

It is a unique talent show, in my opinion. We do usually watch America’s Got Talent because it showcases more than just singing talent. I have watched very little of American Idol (although we did follow two seasons of Canadian Idol), or X Factor. I just have so much trouble listening to the off-key presentations so as to make it unwatchable for me.

The Sing-Off is different. These groups are often college choir groups, so their talent level is usually well-established. There are times when they have pitch problems, but the competition is so fierce, the groups rarely allow themselves to make such mistakes. The first episode had 16 groups competing and eventually by elimination, came to the final two. The hubby and I would guess which groups would be eliminated by the end of the show. I think I was more accurate than he – not sure why, but it was fun to guess.

One group that was the second last to be eliminated was one from Howard University, and their name was Afro Blue. Howard University is located in Washington, DC and started as an African-American university. I can’t find confirmation of this on the internet, but I’m pretty sure I remember hearing that the fictional university from the Cosby Show – Hillman – was patterned after Howard. It would make sense since Phylicia Rashad, the actress who played Claire Huxtable, and her choreographer/actress sister, Debbie Allen, director of the spinoff series A Different World, are both graduates of Howard. The group Afro Blue was comprised of 5 women and 5 men, all African-American except one woman.

Wow! Could they sing! They sang in the jazz style and were fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed every performance they gave. Each group were given a song they had to arrange into a 2-minute performance version with the available voices in their group. So, more than just singing and stage presence, these groups also had to have the ability to arrange music to suit their strengths. It was evident pretty early on which groups did not possess that skill. The hubby and I thought Afro Blue was by far the best in arranging.

However, the judges had problems with them in the early going. They kept saying the group was making things too sophisticated, and overthinking their arrangements. They said they were losing the audience. Not me! However, I guess these judges wanted “simple!” The group got lost for a while, not knowing how to please the judges and losing their identity. The judges then criticized them for that, which I thought was unfair. However, they pulled it together again and made it to the semi-final. I was disappointed to see them go. Their performances were so much fun, and just so effortless it was a real joy to watch them. With Afro Blue out of the running, I do think they chose the next best group for the recording contract and prize money.

The competition ended a week ago, so last night was a Christmas special. Now, they could have called it a “Holiday” special, or “Winter” special, but they called it a “Christmas” special. I was pretty sure I would be disappointed, but was hoping they would actually include “Christ” in their program. Jesus did not make an appearance, nor any homage to His birth. They had the usual winter songs that pass for Christmas songs these days – songs about Santa and the pagan fertility plant, mistletoe. And they had a couple of strange ones too. There was one I can’t remember now but thought it was a very odd choice for a Christmas show.

Another was Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah.” I remember when it was first released and thought it really had nothing to do with “hallelujah” – “praise the Lord.” And in looking at the lyrics online, there is a disbelieving tone to it, and it’s really about romantic love gone wrong. What?!? What does that have to do with Jesus’ birth, or Christmas – even the secular way it is celebrated today? And yet, the judges and the performers were deeply moved by their presentation. I don’t get it. And it all made me very sad.

There is so much to celebrate this time of year – true love from a God Who has adopted us as His own. Such a fantastic gift given to us unworthy so we can live with Him forever. Wow! And yet, this makes society uncomfortable. Instead they turn this message into one about commercialism, winter, feeling good, and family. They even co-opted the Christian example of St. Nicholas and turned it into sap! As for me and my house…

Until next time, remember Who Christmas is really about…