Apologies for the long post, but I promise it's all related.
So... I was hospitalised for 4 days this week after dealing with respiratory problems that progressed over six weeks. Multiple nurse and GP visits before hospitalisation which ended up with a trip to A&E, another GP visit, who ended up sending me to the ACU. Multiple blood tests, an x-ray and a CT scan later, they diagnosed me with Hypersensitive Pneumonitis and I had to be admitted to be put on oxygen until they pulled me out of the danger zone.
I'm now on 8 steroids and two antibiotics a day while I wait for a bronchoscopy which should, hopefully, be on the 24th.
So... Anyone familiar with HP isn't surprised to read that the doctors have mentioned it might be caused by my bird. A female Indian Ringneck named Sunny (or Sunday, if I'm feeling fancy) who I've owned for almost 10 years- picked her out as a baby and had her since she was weaned. She's my only bird, although I have occasionally been exposed to birds beforehand, especially when I looked after an ex's cockatiel for a year before owning Sunny. They were a little unsure, as other potential causes were oral Minoxidil I had started taking 8 months ago (male balding, woe is me) as well as the fact that I work as a cleaner at a gym which includes cleaning the sauna at the end of my shift... Damp wood and contaminated sauna water both being a potential cause of HP (maybe mould, too? Damp environments, after all), to. Needless to say, I'm praying work or pills are responsible, or anything else, over my bird. I'd honestly prefer to go bald or quit my job than give up my bird.
I have clinical depression, an anxiety disorder, chronic pain and am autistic. Sunny is just... she's my best friend, you know? I love her. My life revolves around her and vise versa. She stays in my bedroom (where I spend a lot of my time, eek) and as long as I'm home in my room (awake), she's out. She's such a little gremlin. Affectionate but ferocious. She begs for tickles and will immediately switch to attack mode and back... I've learned the signs over the years to avoid more finger scars, so now it's just a funny quirk of hers that makes me laugh. I have a small seagull plushie that she swaps between trying to murder, flirt with and feed. She loves my mother too, and when it's time for bed, she will throw a tantrum if her Nana doesn't come in and say goodnight. She doesn't really speak, but she can somewhat mimic the rhythmic sound of "Hi, baby!", wolf whistles thanks to my mother, makes funny little nonsense noises and is just altogether my silly, feisty little girl. If I lie down in bed, she doesn't scream. She lets me rest without disturbance. Rubber ducks and jingle balls are both her friends and enemies and she loves to throw them off the edge of whatever they might be sitting on.
She spins on command, shakes hands (...foot?), waves hello, bows, goes under my hand on command and steps up, but has very poor recall. She's very stubborn, actually. She knows how to step up, but if she doesn't want to, she won't, and will instead lower her beak to your finger in refusal... and mild threat, hahah. When she wants something, she will repeatedly spin and wave her foot as if to say "Look! I'm doing a trick! Give it to me!".
Her favourite treats are peanuts, peanut butter, those little jelly pots for birds, strawberries and apples... She loves soy beans too, but prefers them without the skins. Likewise with green beans- she'll only eat them if they've been popped out of the pod. She's funny in how she often won't eat new things unless she sees me eating it first, then it's all she wants.
She used to be on a typical pet store bird diet for a year or two before I converted her to Harrison's Lifetime Coarse pellet diet. I was totally expecting the conversion to take a while due to reading other people's experiences, but it barely took a week after putting the tiniest amount of peanut butter on a pellet and offering them to her as a treat. Hasn't gone back to a seed based diet since.
... I could go on, but I won't.
The point of this post is... If my HP does end up being caused by birds, how do I even begin to cope with having to rehome Sunny? I've been looking up parrot rescues (UK only, I live in Wales) and every single one seems to have at least some negative reviews about their practices, which is more than enough to scare me away from them. Not only am I worrying about how this would affect me, but how it would affect Sunny, too. I understand why I'd have to rehome her, but Sunny does not. How do I know whoever she goes to is looking after her properly? Understands and appreciates her quirks, good and bad? Doesn't get mad and frustrated with her when she bites out of nowhere?
How do I know they will keep her for the rest of her life instead of passing her off to someone else? Will they take her to the vet regularly? Do they have pet insurance? Will they supplement her diet with things like Calcivet and Avipro?
Will they play with her in the way she likes? Give her appropriate amounts of attention? Respond to her specific whistles in the way she likes?
I can't stand the thought of losing her, but what's even more unbearable is the idea of someone not caring for Sunny in a way she's used to or makes her happy. I'd have to trust a stranger with my little girl, to trust their word that she's doing well. Photos and videos only prove so much. I do a home visit- so what? People lie, people pretend, just to get their hands on a bird. Sunny isn't a breeding bird, she's a companion. What if they just use her for breeding? She's not been with other birds since she was a baby, so I don't even know how she'd cope being with in a flock. The way she reacts to bird-shaped objects leads me to believe she wouldn't enjoy it, but I'm not sure.
... What if they just stick her in an aviary? I've tried taking Sunny outside in travel cages for natural sunlight and she would panic every single time. Even taking her downstairs for a larger room to fly around in (she has never had her wings clipped), she seems uncomfortable. Less sure of herself. She prefers to stay in my bedroom most of the time, unless it's to take her to the bathroom to give her a misting (her preferred way of bathing!).
I might be worrying over nothing, I know that, but... I can't help it. It's bringing me to tears. I have to wait for the results of the allergen blood test to know more; I believe it was one specific for birds? I'm going to call the doctor up in a few days to see if there's any news on that front. I like to think that since I'm home now and haven't gotten worse again that it's a good sign, but... I mean... As of writing this, I've only been home for a single day and I'm on steroids, so... Y'know.
I doubt anything anybody could say would actually make me feel better, but... I'm desperately seeking comfort and advice. I struggle with life a lot. I'm 32 and still live with my parents and it has taken me a long time to be able to find and keep a job that didn't clash with my mental and physical health. My pets, Sunny especially, are my safe space. My refuge. I don't know what to do.
Anyway... Here's Sunny, and thank you for your time.
So... I was hospitalised for 4 days this week after dealing with respiratory problems that progressed over six weeks. Multiple nurse and GP visits before hospitalisation which ended up with a trip to A&E, another GP visit, who ended up sending me to the ACU. Multiple blood tests, an x-ray and a CT scan later, they diagnosed me with Hypersensitive Pneumonitis and I had to be admitted to be put on oxygen until they pulled me out of the danger zone.
I'm now on 8 steroids and two antibiotics a day while I wait for a bronchoscopy which should, hopefully, be on the 24th.
So... Anyone familiar with HP isn't surprised to read that the doctors have mentioned it might be caused by my bird. A female Indian Ringneck named Sunny (or Sunday, if I'm feeling fancy) who I've owned for almost 10 years- picked her out as a baby and had her since she was weaned. She's my only bird, although I have occasionally been exposed to birds beforehand, especially when I looked after an ex's cockatiel for a year before owning Sunny. They were a little unsure, as other potential causes were oral Minoxidil I had started taking 8 months ago (male balding, woe is me) as well as the fact that I work as a cleaner at a gym which includes cleaning the sauna at the end of my shift... Damp wood and contaminated sauna water both being a potential cause of HP (maybe mould, too? Damp environments, after all), to. Needless to say, I'm praying work or pills are responsible, or anything else, over my bird. I'd honestly prefer to go bald or quit my job than give up my bird.
I have clinical depression, an anxiety disorder, chronic pain and am autistic. Sunny is just... she's my best friend, you know? I love her. My life revolves around her and vise versa. She stays in my bedroom (where I spend a lot of my time, eek) and as long as I'm home in my room (awake), she's out. She's such a little gremlin. Affectionate but ferocious. She begs for tickles and will immediately switch to attack mode and back... I've learned the signs over the years to avoid more finger scars, so now it's just a funny quirk of hers that makes me laugh. I have a small seagull plushie that she swaps between trying to murder, flirt with and feed. She loves my mother too, and when it's time for bed, she will throw a tantrum if her Nana doesn't come in and say goodnight. She doesn't really speak, but she can somewhat mimic the rhythmic sound of "Hi, baby!", wolf whistles thanks to my mother, makes funny little nonsense noises and is just altogether my silly, feisty little girl. If I lie down in bed, she doesn't scream. She lets me rest without disturbance. Rubber ducks and jingle balls are both her friends and enemies and she loves to throw them off the edge of whatever they might be sitting on.
She spins on command, shakes hands (...foot?), waves hello, bows, goes under my hand on command and steps up, but has very poor recall. She's very stubborn, actually. She knows how to step up, but if she doesn't want to, she won't, and will instead lower her beak to your finger in refusal... and mild threat, hahah. When she wants something, she will repeatedly spin and wave her foot as if to say "Look! I'm doing a trick! Give it to me!".
Her favourite treats are peanuts, peanut butter, those little jelly pots for birds, strawberries and apples... She loves soy beans too, but prefers them without the skins. Likewise with green beans- she'll only eat them if they've been popped out of the pod. She's funny in how she often won't eat new things unless she sees me eating it first, then it's all she wants.
She used to be on a typical pet store bird diet for a year or two before I converted her to Harrison's Lifetime Coarse pellet diet. I was totally expecting the conversion to take a while due to reading other people's experiences, but it barely took a week after putting the tiniest amount of peanut butter on a pellet and offering them to her as a treat. Hasn't gone back to a seed based diet since.
... I could go on, but I won't.
The point of this post is... If my HP does end up being caused by birds, how do I even begin to cope with having to rehome Sunny? I've been looking up parrot rescues (UK only, I live in Wales) and every single one seems to have at least some negative reviews about their practices, which is more than enough to scare me away from them. Not only am I worrying about how this would affect me, but how it would affect Sunny, too. I understand why I'd have to rehome her, but Sunny does not. How do I know whoever she goes to is looking after her properly? Understands and appreciates her quirks, good and bad? Doesn't get mad and frustrated with her when she bites out of nowhere?
How do I know they will keep her for the rest of her life instead of passing her off to someone else? Will they take her to the vet regularly? Do they have pet insurance? Will they supplement her diet with things like Calcivet and Avipro?
Will they play with her in the way she likes? Give her appropriate amounts of attention? Respond to her specific whistles in the way she likes?
I can't stand the thought of losing her, but what's even more unbearable is the idea of someone not caring for Sunny in a way she's used to or makes her happy. I'd have to trust a stranger with my little girl, to trust their word that she's doing well. Photos and videos only prove so much. I do a home visit- so what? People lie, people pretend, just to get their hands on a bird. Sunny isn't a breeding bird, she's a companion. What if they just use her for breeding? She's not been with other birds since she was a baby, so I don't even know how she'd cope being with in a flock. The way she reacts to bird-shaped objects leads me to believe she wouldn't enjoy it, but I'm not sure.
... What if they just stick her in an aviary? I've tried taking Sunny outside in travel cages for natural sunlight and she would panic every single time. Even taking her downstairs for a larger room to fly around in (she has never had her wings clipped), she seems uncomfortable. Less sure of herself. She prefers to stay in my bedroom most of the time, unless it's to take her to the bathroom to give her a misting (her preferred way of bathing!).
I might be worrying over nothing, I know that, but... I can't help it. It's bringing me to tears. I have to wait for the results of the allergen blood test to know more; I believe it was one specific for birds? I'm going to call the doctor up in a few days to see if there's any news on that front. I like to think that since I'm home now and haven't gotten worse again that it's a good sign, but... I mean... As of writing this, I've only been home for a single day and I'm on steroids, so... Y'know.
I doubt anything anybody could say would actually make me feel better, but... I'm desperately seeking comfort and advice. I struggle with life a lot. I'm 32 and still live with my parents and it has taken me a long time to be able to find and keep a job that didn't clash with my mental and physical health. My pets, Sunny especially, are my safe space. My refuge. I don't know what to do.
Anyway... Here's Sunny, and thank you for your time.
