Earlyn lost her battle with PDD

[thegreatkatsby]

(continued from http://theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3311&start=70#p22746)

Earlyn passed away Wednesday night at the Tufts Foster Hospital for Small Animals. The vets at Tufts diagnosed her with PDD just as soon as they saw her barium x-rays. I had one last hour with her on the ride from South Hadley to Worcester, holding her as she slept on my chest.

She was my best friend and I loved her more than anything. I thought we had many more years together, and I'm shocked and devastated by how fast everything happened.

She lived with me for six years without any distinguishable symptoms. In retrospect, I wish I had been monitoring her droppings more closely (they looked normal up until her death, unless you looked with a flashlight really close). Maybe I could have caught it sooner.

Now I have to worry about whether or not Pi the Pionus has it too. His dropping have been a little wet on and off, but between my breakdowns at home and the disappearance of his roommate, he might be stressed. I can't tell for sure whether there is food in his droppings (like the obvious seeds in Earlyn's), or if that's just normal for him. He eats pellets, and although there do appear to be small pieces in his droppings (tiny like cornmeal), I want him to eat some seeds to see if they pass. I'm not sure if the amount of urine is high or normal. It's especially hard to know what's normal because I have only had him since August.

He had very little exposure to Earlyn, even though they recently started living in the same room (with their cages about 7-8' apart across the room). I think he sat on her roll-around perch once, but it had been recently cleaned. I won't take him out of the cage again until I thoroughly bleach-clean the whole room.

The vet told me that it will take 3-4 weeks for the necropsy confirmation of PDD, and now I have to make a decision of whether to seek immediate care for Pi (who is otherwise very active, talkative, and symptom-less), or wait for the results. I don't know if I can go through this again. This past week has been completely devastating. Additionally, I don't know if I can afford to pursue more medical care if it can wait a month. Earlyn's bills were in the 2000+ range, and I still owe some money.

I have never felt so helpless before. I'd appreciate any thoughts or insight.

[ptuga72]

I have never felt so helpless before. I'd appreciate any thoughts or insight.

I don't have much to add, except I'm so very sorry you loss Earlyn. She sounds like a wonderful companion to you, and you sound like such a loving "mom". She was well-loved and given a wonderful home while she was here.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I am so, so, sorry to hear this. Hugs to you. If you are at all worried about Pi's droppings, why not take a sample to the vet? They can look at it under magnification and tell you if there is anything in there that shouldn't be, no need to have that worry on your plate along with your grief.

[lzver]

I am so sorry to hear about Earyln. I can't even begin to imagine how devistated you are.

I don't know if your vet can do the test, but there is a fecal test that can test for the virus that causes PDD and here in Canada it only costs $40 at a vets office. It may give you some piece of mind about Pi.

Please accept my condolences and I sincerely hope that Pi has not been exposed and is alright.

[rebeccaturpeinen]

i am so so sorry for your loss....

[funky crunch]

[el-parrot]

oh no!!! I am so very sorry to hear this.. My condolences... fly free little Earlyn..

[a.susz]

i'm so sorry for your loss. RIP earlynn. don't be so hard on yourself for not taking her back in, you didn't know. It's the past.

[birdvet]

So so sorry to hear about your loss

I posted a huge article about PDD under OGs disussion about PDD. It might answer some questions you may have.

Dont beat yourself up about not picking the disease up earlier as its a nasty sneaky disease sometimes. It is also highly contagious so I desperately hope your other little Fid is ok and hasn't picked it up!!