The saga continues...

How is Angel doing? Monday night she started eating her seed again for the first time. Her eyes were still bright and I just knew she wasn't ready to give up. But she was in such bad shape and I hate to see an animal suffer. This was no way for a bird to live. I got in the car Tuesday morning, trying to prepare myself for being told there was no hope. The first thing I hear on the radio is 'when I die, I'll fly away...' I was fighting the tears.
But Angel is still here!!! One of the first possibilities mentioned at the vet was a stroke but apparently vitamin deficiencies can mimic those symptoms. She is calcium deficient and she developed a bacterial infection (I got the feeling that it may be a natural bacteria that just got out of control because of the situation but I'm not sure). She had lost weight but not as much as they expected and I had managed to get enough water in her beginning Sunday night that she wasn't really dehydrated! She had 2 shots: antibiotic and calcium supplement (almost sounded like it might be steroidal also) and I have 2 prescription meds to give her daily, vitamin/calcium supplement to add to both birds' food, and contact lens saline solution to rinse her scratched and raw eye with.
It will be a long road but he thinks she'll make it. He even wants me to call and let him know! A basically wild bird he has never seen before and a bird he may never see again but he'd still like me to call. If you have any exotics (non-cat/dog/tarantula/monkey), Dr. Dahlhausen in Milford is the guy to see. He is recommended by every pet store I have asked, the Cincinnati Zoo, the Cincinnati Museum Center, the local herpetological society, etc.
What he explained is: on a good balanced diet, it takes a month to get enough calcium and nutrients for 1 egg. Angel lays 2 eggs every 2 weeks during season. A total of 18 last year and at least a dozen so far this year. She is behind almost from the start. And when you have a picky seed eater (said 'Angel' or 'Teddy'), it is hard to get calcium in them. They can be deficient for quite a while without showing any signs but then once it hits, it hits hard. It wreaks havoc with their entire system. He recommended using a powdered supplement but to add just a touch of vegetable oil to the seed first so that the powder will stick (almost like butter in popcorn so the salt sticks). We have to rebuild all that she has lost.
Currently she is still not very stable on her feet (she acts drunk all the time) so I have her in a basket in a separate cage to help her stay upright. She is able to catch herself on smaller wobbles and keep from falling over but the bigger wobbles still get her. She stays pretty much where I put her. She still holds her head turned to the left (which seems to be her weaker side and the side with the bad eye from sliding on the gravel paper) though she can straighten and turn right when she decides to. I suspect the different angle and uneven muscle tone is affecting her sense of balance and keeping her from eating much off the floor like normal. I have food in with her but she eats best when I take her out and hold her with a bowl up right in front of her face. That is also how she drinks. I know she does not like the big monster that keeps picking her up and messing with her but she does seem to be accepting/realizing that it's really a good thing. She is not getting as worked up as she used to. I guess 45 minutes at a time snuggled up to me and eating will do that! And I am learning to read her body language about when she is done eating or wants to be put back! Sometimes she will just sit in my hand for a while relaxing. Now, how do I convince her that the oral syringes of meds are really good things too!?!?!?
She has started stretching and flapping both wings but is nowhere near ready to fly. There is a part of me that has hoped she wouldn't be until I at least got all of her antibiotics in her otherwise, how am I going to catch her and make her take it?? I want her to get better and quickly but I don't want to short-change her either and then have her relapse.
Through all of this, the other dove, Teddy, has been somewhat out of sorts. He is usually a very big talker, especially in the morning when he gets to talk with the alarm clocks, etc. Now on some mornings I do not hear him at all. And he seems to be spending most of his time camped on in the one corner of the cage closest to Angel. He is watching her! When I have her out, I hold her up near him so they can see each other. Not sure what they think of it but I'm trying...

Now, on the knitting front, I ripped out the 3+ inches of sock that I had and have started a new pattern. Beth told me about Marina Piccola by Kate Gilbert. She tried to describe it but... words don't apply, you have to see the picture. And it comes in various sizes and gauges so I should be able to pull of getting a sock to fit without having to re-engineer the whole thing!
Last night I finished the ribbing and worked about 1" of the pattern before falling asleep in my chair. Don't have a full repeat yet but so far, so good. If I can get my card reader back from my son, maybe I can get a picture later...