Sad News

[attackfish]

We had to give up all of the birds.  My mother and I both developed hypersensitivity pneumonitis, specifically the type called bird fancier's lung.  After it caused my mom to develop pneumonia and almost killed her, and made me unable to go to sleep because I couldn't breathe, we found our birds temporary homes with a reputable rescue that will make every effort to keep the birds that should be together, together.  I have worked with them before.  They do very good work, and my babies are safe with them.

I miss my babies terribly, but it had literally become life and death, and my mother and I were at risk of permanent lung function loss.  I have had birds my entire life, and it really hurts that I will never be able to have birds again.

After we found homes for the birds, we had the entire house cleaned, washed all the sheets, and blankets, and curtains, rented giant hepa filters...  I;m starting to be able to breathe again.  But I still miss my birds.

Comments

[frith_in_thorns]

*hugs*

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* thank you.

[ljlee.livejournal.com]

Aww, that is awful. :( Not being able to have certain pets because of preexisting allergies is frustrating enough, but it just sucks to have to give up companions you've become attached to.

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

After the last few months, with my mother being rushed to the emergency room, and not knowing what was wrong with her, and being unable to get a good diagnosis and worrying over her, and then I started getting sick too, it's been very scary. And then finding out I had to give up my pets was tough. This is when I hate my illnesses, when my problems have nothing to do with other people making things difficult for me, when it's just my body directly screwing things up.

When I was growing up, I was taught that when you take an animal in, you make a promise to them that you will take care of them for the rest of their life, and my health made me break that promise. The good thing is, I know they're safe, and will find good homes. The rescue has been sending us updates.

[ljlee.livejournal.com]

Is there a particular reason these things develop? You've had birds for years so it's no wonder that didn't come up right away as a cause. I also read that bird-fancier's lung (or bird-breeder's lung, or pigeon-breeder's lung) shows up within normal range in functional tests and a scan is needed to detect the structural changes, which would be another difficulty in diagnosing it. Judging by its names, the condition seems to afflict people who were in regular contact with birds until the lung just up and decides it can't take anymore. Maybe it's a cumulative effect, I don't know.

I agree about the promise to animals you take in, but all promises take changed circumstances into account and re-homing them responsibly is definitely one aspect of it. You took good care of them to the last and have no reason to feel bad about your conduct--though that doesn't help much with feeling bad about not having your birds around anymore, I imagine. :(

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

I don't really know. Mom and I both in retrospect had symptoms for years. Mine got much much worse suddenly after I got an upper respiratory infection that made everyone in the family's autoimmune issues go haywire for some reason. Grammy caught it, developed asthmatic bronchitis, and had a diabetes flair up that sent her blood sugar up to 500 and put her in the hospital. My sister's been having an autoimmune flair up since she got it too, and Mom and I had worsening symptoms of this. No one is really sure why it suddenly develops in individuals, but it often develops suddenly after years and years of frequent problem free contact with birds.

My mother's x-rays looked like she had infectious pneumonia (because she had secondary pneumonia), and because of her other immune issues, she tested negatively to the sensitivity test. However, once the pneumonia went away, and she got reallllllly sick after sleeping with my grandmother's down comforter...

I know I did the right thing. We couldn't keep them. It was an actual impossibility. But I still feel bad, and I wish I could explain to them what was happening, and why, because everything is suddenly different for them, and they don't have any idea why. It's the things I can't help that always make me fuss.

[sholio]

Aargh, that's awful. :( *hugs*

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I know we had to, I know they're safe and well looked after, but I still miss them.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

Huggles!!

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Thank you.