Snowy died at 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21.

He was very sad on Monday and was definitely having trouble moving. I'd rearranged his perches on Sunday night to make it easier for him.

Ironically, for the last few weeks, Snowy has been so hungry he's been eating most of what I give him. Every morning James makes oatmeal and then I feed him one oat at the time; he seems very happy about it. He also was still loving the wheat bread. Still didn't like sweets like fruit. The only thing was that I noticed he could only eat a few bites at the time before he began regurgitation, and he was drinking a lot. So it could have been something wrong with his crop, or his kidneys. And I noticed that a lot of the time he didn't want to be scratched under the chin anymore.

When I emerged from the bedroom Tuesday morning he was fluffed up on his sleeping perch looking about normal, but when I put my hand in the cage a little later on he didn't want to be touched and slipped off trying to get away from me. He usually climbs right back up, but now he couldn't, and he was cawing at me to get away from him. I finally had him out and cradled in my hands where he just lay there helpless. I had to cath off James, so I put Snowy in his carry box to be safe, and rushed back. I called the vet who asked if I wanted to bring him in, but it was obvious he was dying right before my eyes and a ride would take an hour, so she stayed on the phone with me through the whole thing. (I got a condolence card in the mail a few days later.) I was going to reach in and cradle him again, but he cawed at me when I tried so I just held the box and talked to him softly and told him it was okay to fly away. Snowy finally crawled into a corner of the box and took his final breath.

It's hard to write about this. Poor little thing. He was hurting so much and I couldn't even comfort him.

 

Snowdrift Stormy Young, November 15, 2013 - February 21, 2023

And I still had to finish the laundry and do the chores, same as always.

I took an Amazon box and cut it down, then lined it with part of his flannel cage cover, and put Snowy in with his favorite toy. He is in the freezer until we can find someone to bury him, as neither James nor I have the strength to dig a hole. James can't even walk into the back yard because it's so uneven.

We did not remain unscathed. At bedtime James had shoulder/chest pain and we basically spent the night at Urgent Care. There was nothing wrong with his heart, but his creatitine was in the 4's and he has another UTI. So we got to bed about five a.m. and cancelled out of physiotherapy. Thursday we had to go to James' infusion, where he mused about the results of the test. He's afraid that he's going to have to go back on dialysis soon.

There were things to elevate the week, but they didn't quite register. Wednesday night Barnes & Noble had an online seminar with Rupert Holmes about his new book The McMasters Guide to Homicide: Murder Your Employer. This is the first in a series of mystery books about the McMaster's school which teaches you how to commit the perfect murder. Think of it as Hogwarts for adults who want to kill. It's delightfully twisty, following three characters, Cliff, Gemma, and Dulcie, who all want to kill three reprehensible and deserving characters for different reasons.

We also went to Books-a-Million on Friday and had lunch at Uncle Maddio's, and on Saturday James went to his model contest. I couldn't stand the quiet house, so went to Sam's Club, and Walmart, and also to Book Nook.

Labels: birds, books, death, health, pets, sickness

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 11:27:00 PM

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It's been a very medical week. James started out the week with a visit to Dr. Shash; this was very positive. His EKG came out fine, he didn't need another echocardiogram, and we got his prescriptions refilled. Plus the ride out to Glenlake was pretty painless.

Wednesday James had his usual physiotherapy. Karen says he's doing very well, but she didn't have to say it. He's so much better than he was, especially when he got back from the hospital in October. He was so weak and his hands shook.

Thursday we went to the first of three iron infusions for James because his iron is still too low. I'm not sure what goes on with the infusion clinic; they can always tap James for a blood test when he goes for a blood test, but they took an hour to find a vein to run the infusion through. Then there was another 90 minutes for the infusion itself. I'm spending the time uploading the finished story to Archive of Our Own and Fanfiction.net, and, yes, editing as I go!

Ron and Lin have been splitting Hair Day into two parts to save Sheri's carpal tunnel problems, so Friday James went for his haircut. We are not the only ones with medical hassles: the doctor wants Juanita to have a very scary-sounding infusion.

And on Saturday I gave in and got a vet appointment for Snowy next week. It's another drop-off, which I hate; I want to be with my boy when he sees the doctor. He was brighter on Sunday and even said "Hi, parakeet!" to me, but I noticed that when we were watching Alan Cumming and Miriam Margolies that night that he seemed to have some problem moving. I should go to the emergency vet, but they aren't avian qualified.

Did get some neat books for Valentine's Day: James bought me In Search of Jefferson, and I also got A Book, Too, Can Be a Star in the mail, along with the new "Rivers of London" graphic novel.

Labels: birds, books, friends, health, pets, sickness, Valentines Day, writing

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 11:32:00 PM

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It's a funny thing about writing; sometimes the story is easier to write than thinking up an appropriate title for it. For the stories I'm writing, I like a title that has a double meaning (because the source material had episode titles that almost always had multiple meanings). The current story has been a trial because any title I could give it pretty much gave away the ending. I started out with one title, changed it just after the first of the year, but have finally found the perfect title while finishing the last of my French research books.

Also had some really good news during a Friday lunch: our friend Aubrey has been offered a good, boss new job due to her contacts in the writing community! The job market is so tough today we are so happy for her.

And then, of course, comes the bad news:

James had a x-ray of his knee last week, and saw the orthopedist this morning. Almost all the cartilage in his left knee, the one that creaks like a board in an old floor every time he climbs the stairs or gets up from a chair, is gone. The usual cure for this is knee replacement surgery. But James BMI is too high, and, the doctor stated matter-of-factly, even if he wasn't overweight, she would not recommend surgery because his other numbers (kidneys, heart, etc.) are so bad.

And we had eye exams, and yes, indeed, Mr. Cataract is worse. I can actually have surgery now if I want to. And I'm frightened of anesthesia and painkillers, and I seem to remember you can't bend down for a certain amount of time when you have cataract surgery, so who would cath James even if I had it done?

Labels: friends, health, sickness, writing

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 10:59:00 PM

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Self-medicating this week: instead of drugs I watch Law & Order: Criminal Intent. My own kind of music to "soothe the savage breast." Otherwise chores and doing the monthly backup of the hard drive. We'd planned to go to the buffet at Fried Tomato on Saturday and couldn't even do that.

I can't believe it's February already. Around here that means it's already getting ready to get warm. Winter—the entire cold season—is much too short here. When I walk the dog I try to enjoy the nice cool air. I stand there and breathe deeply to refresh myself before the hot, stultifying winds of the summer come, making the air thick even in the late night after dark when I walk the dog, when otherwise in other venues it has finally gotten cool and the air is pleasant.

Looking forward to March and Atomicon, but not to it getting warmer.

Labels: television, weather

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 10:44:00 PM

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