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Should I travel while my Pi is in the hospital?

MyPiOwnsUs

Sitting on the front steps
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Hi All, I don't post here much (if at all) but I do appreciate everything I read here, so thanks!

My WCP (15 - 20yo female) just got hospitalized because she's been losing weight rapidly (about 5 grams a day) over the past week. She's been eating, and playing, and otherwise looks normal, except for sleeping a bit more than usual, being a bit grouchy, and having a bit of polyuria. I can tell she didn't feel 100%, so I took her into emergency this morning and they held onto her for more diagnostics (her main vet had taken a CBC and an xray last week, which was transfered to the emergency vet hospital). She's in very good hands at the emergency vet and the avian specialist on staff called me and told me that while they don't know what's causing the weight loss yet (they ruled out heavy metals, egg binding, and a heart murmur), she's otherwise stable, she's very sweet, and is easily stepping up for everyone.

I asked the specialist whether she thought that it would be ok for me to take a planned trip tomorrow (Wed to Sunday), or whether I should stick around in case Cricket takes a turn for the worse. She says that with birds you can't always tell, but for the most part, she thinks Cricket is stable enough that she's not going to take a nosedive at some point (knock on wood). She seemed pretty confident that Cricket would still be alive, regardless of the diagnosis, by the time I got home.

My question to all of you is, would you go on your trip? I'm flying to NorCal from SoCal (so not far) to help my parents (my mother's not well and I help out) and to go to my neice's bday party (who I rarely get to see and she loves her auntie), so I really don't want to miss this trip. But it wouldn't be the end of the world if I did. I can always reschedule the flight for later in the week, but it will cost probably a couple hundred and with the $$$ in vet bills I'm already paying, something is just telling me to get on the plane tomorrow.

What are your thoughts on this? Obviously I have to make this decision myself, but I'd love to hear from the Pi world. :D
 

saroj12

Ripping up the road
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I couldn’t do it.
 

MyPiOwnsUs

Sitting on the front steps
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So I ended up going on my trip. The vet called this morning and said Cricket is doing fine. While she hasn't gained any weight, but she hasn't lost any either, and the vet says she's still eating and moving around fine and looks generally good, so that was a relief. They did a fecal test and another CBC today and we'll have the results tomorrow. While I wish I was at home, I'm ok that I went on my trip. My mother has Alzheimers and having me around is a great help to both of her and my father, who she doesn't recognize most of the time. And Cricket is in the best place possible (she's still at the hospital), so I'm slowly starting not to worry about so much. I love them both (Cricket and my mother), and I made the best decision I could under the circumstances. Technically I could get back home in about four hours if needed. I'm just trying to stay in the moment and not think about worst case scenarios. My husband is still at home, so he's there if Cricket needs someone immediately. But, again, it's best that I just don't think about it and remember that she's doing well. I was ready to turn around at the airport if the vet said anything negative about Cricket's situation, but she was pretty confident about her current condition, so I got on the plane.
 

Shezbug

ASK ME FOR PICTURES OF MY MACAW!
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I hope you have a great time with your parents. It will be a great help for your father and he will appreciate the help and support. You said your hubby is close enough to get to Cricket if needed so try not to stress and enjoy being in the moment. Every moment spent with a loved one with Alzheimer’s (and the rest of your family) will be well worth your time. Time is precious when Alzheimer’s is a factor and Cricket is stable.
It must have been a very hard decision but it sounds like it’s well thought through and all other bases are covered.
I think you have done what is right for you in your situation :hug8:
 

Sunny&Mars

Walking the driveway
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Enjoy your time with your family and don't worry about your bird (hard to do I know). I love my birds, but if I had to choose between them and family, family comes first (well, not all family members! LOL) Even if something happens to the bird you made the right choice and don't feel guilty about going.
 

Mizzely

Lil Monsters Bird Toys
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Your bird is in the best possible place it could be, being monitored for any signs of illness and with people to step in if needed. You being at home vs visiting family while your bird is in the hospital would not change any outcomes.

It is hard, but I think you are doing the best thing for everyone, including yourself.
 
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simon777

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I'm going to make a strange little suggestion.
Get your husband to go to the hospital, during visiting hours, and get him to ring you so that you and Cricket can have a little talk to each other.
I know that Cricket will like to hear your voice and I'm sure you would like to hear his.
This will make you feel better and it will brighten Cricket's day too.
 

MyPiOwnsUs

Sitting on the front steps
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Thanks for the reassurance everyone. I feel better this morning, and reading your kind words also helped. One of the things I always try to remember is that when we adopted Cricket, the rescue founder told me that, considering what horrible conditions Cricket had been in (kept in a basement by a backyard breeder for an unknown number of years), it was amazing she looked as good as she did when she came to the rescue. "This one's a fighter," she said, and that's been true ever since. She's a nervous bird, but she adapts so quickly. She went from a statue, crammed in the corner of her cage, to a healthy, demanding, pushy, independent and curious Pionus, just like she should be. Everyone at the vet says how cute and sweet she is and she's stepping up for everyone (probably because she's bored stiff in a boring old incubator). I'm sure she'd rather be home, but she's not terrified thankfully. Knowing her, she's just annoyed by all these people who want to love on her and see how pretty she is, like, "Yes, I know I'm beautiful. Geez!"

I did think about doing a FaceTime video with her in the hospital, but then I thought that might not be such a good idea. If she sees me/hears me, she'll think I'm there to pick her up and go home (cuz that's the pattern when she's elsewhere; I don't show up until it's time to leave), and I don't want to mess w/her head like that. Also, everyone in the hospital is calm, cool, and collected, which is a better energy for Cricket right now than mine. I don't want her to pick up on my stress, but I do appreciate the suggestion, because I thought of it too. I'm getting such decent updates about how she's coping in the hospital that I don't want to screw anything up.

Thanks again everyone. Being here calms my mother and gives my father a chance to relax a little. They were both supportive of me, telling me to stay home if I needed to be near Cricket, but I just felt a strong draw to stick to my plan for some reason. And my niece's graduation/birthday party is in a couple days and I rarely get to see her, and while this is starting to sound like a sob story but it's totally not, she has developmental disabilities, so it meant something extra to her that I was going to be able to make it to her party (the rest of my nieces and nephews could care less, as long as the birthday cash shows up, ha!). So, point is, both decisions had a lot on the line for me, and while I still stress about the unthinkable with Cricket, I don't think I could've made a bad decision either way in this case. Everyone here would've understood completely if I'd stayed home, and Cricket, if she could comprehend the situation, would be fine with me coming here.

It helped to type all that out. Sometimes you just need to get it all out on paper to sort out the tangled mental mess. Thanks again for contributing everyone. I'm sure I'll keep posting about Cricket as I hear more. Today I'll hear about the results of her fecal test and second CBC. Fingers crossed that they reveal something simple and easily treatable. Have a great day everyone! Give your feather babies a treat for me. :)
 

MyPiOwnsUs

Sitting on the front steps
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Vet just called and Cricket's monocytes are elevated so they're starting her on a general course of antibiotics. The fecal stain was nothing too abnormal, but it was lacking in some normal bacteria that should be there. They still don't know exactly what's causing the weight loss so they gave me two options of either another fecal test that looks for microbacteria and an abdominal ultrasound OR take her home for a few days and see how she does on the antibiotics. I figured since she has pretty much acclimated to the hospital environment (she ate a lot yesterday and her weight was actually up this morning for the first time in a week and a half), then go ahead and do the other tests because I'd rather know conclusively what's going on (or at least have tried everything to find out) than roll the dice at home. So it's great news that her weight is up a little, some treatment has started, and Cricket was her normal, piggy self yesterday even at the hospital (luckily she never stopped eating through all this, even with all the weight loss; I swear, her unwavering appetite is going to be her savior in all this) :D So the waiting game continues, but at least we're slowly making a little progress. :)
 
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