An American Robin. A C3D Story.

[Shrubrose]

Come the day you cant, eh C3D ;D

[chickadeedeedee]

Hi everyone. Barry and I got back from the scheduled doctor's office appointment yesterday. The fantastic news?

The pressures in BOTH eyes are normal!

The pressure should be in the 20s (like for people) and Barry had 24 in the right and a 27 in the left eye yesterday morning. Last week Barry was at 24 in the right and 49 in the left.

Hooray for Barry!

Now the plan is to cut back on the eye drops from three times a day to twice a day. We'll do that for about 2 weeks then cut back to once a day for about two weeks. If all seems OK we will try going without the eye drops for a week and check the pressures in the eyes. If they stay normal .... he is free to leave and be a wild bird again with LOTS of stories to tell his friends.

Right now all that would keep Barry here would be if the pressure goes back up as the medicine decreases. So far, so very good!


The exam? ..... The ophthalmologist put eye drops into Barry's eyes that are an anesthetic for the corneas. She then turned off the lights and examined his eyes with a light and various lenses to see the details of his retinas and other eye structures. All was normal as it has been from the first exam.

The lights were turned on again and Barry had something called a Tono-Pen placed on his eye repeatedly and that instrument measures the internal eye pressure. The doctor repeated the measurments three times on each side to make sure they were a true reading.

Here's a site that kinda describes the instrument:

vet.reicherttonopen.com/ Tono-Pen

The ophthalmologist did not see much of a light reflex from Barry's left eye. That is to say the pupil did not get smaller when a light was shined in the eye ... yet ... he did turn and try to peck at her on the left side! Just like he did with us! Hmmmm! Maybe he sees motion or shadows? Maybe he needs more time for the optic nerve to recover now that the pressure is normal? We have lots of time for Barry to recover. We won't try to rush anything but are pleased as could be that he truly is getting better!

WooooooooHooooooooo! :-) x 13!

[JennyWrenn]

Aw you amaze me you really do - such devotion -

Well done - Jenny XX

[Ruthie]

That's great C3D. Every day brings better news!!

[chickadeedeedee]

Hmmm. I don't know if it is really devotion.  He's here and needs our help. If his needs change ... we still need to help him.    Our greatest joy would be if he could be returned to his true home ... the wild!  :)He's been singing ALL day!  His eye must still be comfortable after we cut back on the number of treatments for his eye a day.Oh dear Barry.  Do you *really* need to toss out a worm or two onto the carpet in the living room? :oEwwwwwwwww!  

[Ruthie]

You have to live with the lows as well as the highs don't you C3D! You're doing brilliant work here. Even if Barry isn't particularly grateful!!!

[JennyWrenn]

Oh yuk Barry how could you such dreadful table manners ;D

[chickadeedeedee]

Ewwwwwwwwwww!

How ~~~~~~>wormy of him!  <~~~~~~~~~  ;D

[chickadeedeedee]

I don't know if it is time to panic and cry. Barry did not sing Thursday or Friday. Does he just not have anything to sing about or is his eye hurting him since we went from three times a day to twice a day for the eye drops?

We gave the drops three times Friday. If he starts singing again .... I guess we know he *NEEDS* to have his eye drops. A veterinarian friend will let us use his Tono-Pen to check Barry's eye pressures but we can't get that until next week.

Question for our friends here ...... Would you think it cruel to subject Barry to a life time of captivity and getting caught multiple times a day to have his eye medicated? Maybe he just needs more time to adjust but still ..... I do not want to make his time on Earth a miserable and frightening experience.

PLEASE just smack me if I am over reacting!

Right now he's singing as happily as can be. From a non-scientific data type of observation I'd say that means he is more comfortable with the three times a day schedule. The last two days also we noticed Olive was very quiet too. Did she know Barry was in pain? Did he tell her something? Is she just madly in love with him? Right now she too is merrily chattering away.

Just thinkin' out loud here .......

* Maybe he needs the drops 3 times a day longer before we start to cut back?
* Maybe we gradually go down with an alternating 2x/day - 3x/day schedule?
* Maybe I am insane and over reacting and Barry is fine on 2x / day?

I am *really* hating this rollercoaster ride!

We'd *never* end Barry's life because of his eye problem. He's too precious! We would consider ending his pain permanently with the removal of the eye if he tells us he doesn't want to be caught multiple times a day forever ... knowing he would be in jail forever after that decision.

For now .... Barry sings his sweet song and we'll give him the drops three times a day. Next week when we get the Tono-Pen we can measure his eye pressures when he's on the drops two times a day and hopefully have the data to back-up my insanity plea.

Whatcha all think? Sound reasonable? Other suggestions? This is too complex for my little Chickadee brain.

[Plocket]

Oh C3D it's so much easier when patients can talk!

He sounds like such a lovely little character and I know that you want to do what's best for him. My vote is for going down to the alternate day thing - 2 drops one day and 3 the next and so on. Then hopefully his eye will start improving and you can cut down to 2 a day.

I also think that it would be better to keep him out of pain and in captivity rather than sending him out to fend for himself. He'd be out in the world not singing

[chickadeedeedee]

Hi Miss Plocket! 


Thank you for taking the time to answer my/our plight.  Barry is still singing and seems as happy as he could be. How many times have I wished my patients *could* talk to me!  Just a brief 20 seconds would do!     


Our main objective is that he is not in pain!  He cannot go free without the eye pressure under control.  He may become a permanent resident here if he does need the eye medicine to keep the pressure and pain under control. He would be a permanent resident if his eye is removed ..... but that is the **VERY** last resort. 


You are right! We do need more time for Barry to adjust and to ~play~ with his medication schedule. It's just that I was sooooooooo happy he responded so quickly and now, at least from my observations, he would need to continue his medications.


I was in panic mode.  *~*~*DEEP BREATH!*~*~*  OK. We can get through this!  We'll give Barry the eye drops three times a day until we get the Tono-Pen.  Then we can check if there is a difference in the pressures at the 2x / day VS the 3x / day treatment and take it from there.We just want sooooooo much for Barry to be able to be 100% healed and go free!  


Certainly there will be no rush to remove his eye!  We have time.  Lots of it. I just don't want him to hurt. 

Thanks! 


Me

[JennyWrenn]

I've just read this and tend to agree with Plocket

Little Barry I have come to love you - keep singing

[Ruthie]

A life in captivity must, surely, be better than failing to survive in the wild. Maybe he just needs more time, and more eye drops. All you can do is what you're already doing. The future will take care of the other decisions!

[chickadeedeedee]

It's basically the same routine for me these days. I start singing around 4:00 AM after having some worms. Those waxworms are very tasty and go down really well with raspberries, blueberries and cherries.

The worms have been changed. Nightcrawlers had more of an entertainment factor when the humans would find them in the carpet. Especially the smaller one. I loved seeing her hair stand on end! Now I have the smaller red worms. While they are easier to toss out and I can fling them farther they just don't create that same surprise reaction as did the nightcrawlers.

I think Olive has tired of me somewhat. After three to four hours of morning song she tells me ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT, SWEETHEART! She is still polite about it and does come over to visit as does the speckled fellow, Kramer.

Unfortunately the humans have not tired of me. They annoy me several times daily. I am caught, some cold eye drops are given to me, I get a neck or head scratch and then released again. (I do like the neck scratching part but don't let them know.) For some odd reason I feel better when the humans annoy me more often. Don't get me wrong. I *hate* being caught! I am still a wild bird but have grown to tolerate the intrusion into my routine.

Sing. Eat. Sing. Nap at around 1:00 then eat some more, toss some worms to repopulate the carpet and sing until dark. Pooping ALL the time.

I heard the humans discussing my imprisonment and think the parole board will not authorize a release yet but I remain hopeful that they will see I have been a model prisoner. I haven't pooped on the jailers ~that much~. Seems we are in a hold pattern for a release date.

I demand a lawyer! I've done my time and not even a crime!

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit!

~Barry

[Plocket]

Oh Barry you are such a little character, and your reports are a delight. I hope you continue to make good progress

[JennyWrenn]

Oh Barry you will make the papers yet ;D

[Ruthie]

Hi Barry, welcome to the Board!!!

[chickadeedeedee]

Finally! Some good news! ;D

I took Barry to the ophthalmologist yesterday. We have not given him the eye drops for 5 days and thought it best to have a proper evaluation.

Barry has NORMAL light reflexes in both eyes. :-)

The edema / swelling / blood in his left eye have resolved. :-)

Both eyes appear 113% normal. :-)

Most importantly is the pressure in the right eye is 22 and in the left is 28! :-) The pressure in the left was slightly higher due to the stress of being held. In reality the pressure is likely about 5 points lower.

Barry doesn't need the eye drops any more. :-)

~~~> Now the downside ... The only thing preventing his release is his tail feathers have not grown back. He lost them at the beginning of the last eye exam when the assistant accidentally did a tail-pull. (At least it wasn't me! LOL!) The lack of growth may be due to the medication or may be a species variation where we need to wait for his normal moult before the tail grows in.

Either way ... Barry is now released into our large free flight area (23 ft. x 9 ft. x 10 ft.) and can regain his flight strength and hopefully his feathers.

And to think the ophthalmologist had suggested to kill him some months earlier because of his eye injury! Eeeeeeekkkkkkkkk!!!!!! The ophthalmologist cannot believe how much Barry has improved! She was sooooooooo happy to tell me that Barry will be A-OK for release ... once those butt feathers come back in. :-)

Lake Erie is literally a stone's throw from our front door so there's ample supply of fresh midges and Mayflies for us to provide Barry. Barry is very good at catching midges, Mayflies, crickets and schtuff in general.

He's been getting fresh compost to rummage around in for a while and hunt for creepie crawlies. In the last few weeks we noticed he's better able to grab for things on his left side. He had only been hunting with his right eye and now he'll even grab a midge or something that is in flight. He does a short hop and nabs his snack. :-)

He reacts to seeing something moving on either side and it appears to be equally good close up and farther away. Of course this is a subjective observation as we don't have a birdy eye chart for him and he tells us how many caterpillars or nightcrawlers he sees.

Now that he's in the free flight he can hone his dexterity even more but he seems to be doing fine. One step / the last step to his long awaited freedom ....

I'll letcha know how the tail situation progresses. It's just a matter of time now for our dear little Barry.

C with 3Ds and a Happy Barry!

[Shrubrose]

Bloomin' well done C3D. Your patience and perseverence paid off thankfully. Barry was lucky to find you Missis! I'm so glad he'll be able to go back to the wild

[Ruthie]

What a heartening update! Fingers crossed for further progress and eventual freedom for Barry!!