Houseguest

[constance]

I don't have any updates as regards my neighbor, Miss B, actually. She's still in the hospital, and has called a couple of times in the past week, but I've been at my parents' when she calls, and phone reception isn't great at my parents' house. And she doesn't offer much information in her messages. Just that she's still in hospital, and can I make sure her Sweetie (yes, that's the parrot's name) is fed and watered. So I haven't managed to talk to her yet -- but at least she's not back in that absolutely unlivable house.

I've been calling my local council on aging at least twice a day since Tuesday, to no avail. I don't know exactly which two minutes per week they're open, but I haven't managed to reach them yet. Not even a voicemail system! The phone just rings and rings, and no one ever picks up, and every time this happens, I get a little more pissed off on behalf of the local aging. They don't even have voicemail! What kind of advocacy group sets themselves up so it's impossible to get hold of them? My mother's back home now, though, and has promised to talk to a couple of friends who do volunteer work to see what our options are.

In the meantime, I do have a bird update. I've been checking on Sweetie every couple of days, making sure she's got what she needs, knowing that she shouldn't be in the house at all, and last night I broke and decided that this morning I was going in to bring her home with me; I couldn't stomach the idea of going in every couple of days indefinitely, and I couldn't stomach the idea of allowing anything to continue on in that house when it was within my power to make sure it didn't. So I went in, first thing this morning. It took me ten minutes to get the cage from the hall to the door because the path and door weren't big enough to fit it through. Then I left her on my porch and went to borrow an ornamental cage from my mother, just to have something to put her in while I cleaned out the cage, which was about two inches deep in dried-out, bug-infested muck. I sprayed it down for about twenty minutes with a high-pressure hose, wanted to bleach it but didn't, since I expect birds react at least as well to bleach as everything else does, and left it to dry while I went to get some fresh birdseed. It was all-purpose birdseed, and I'm sure there's something better to be had, but I'll look into that soon -- does anyone have any advice on the care and feeding of parrots? She's eating, at least. Loves the sunflower seeds, tosses the dried corn straight onto the floor.

She was pretty freaked out when I moved her out of the house, and then from her dirty cage to the ornamental one, and then again when I moved her back again -- I was kind of freaked out, too, though, and I'm glad I thought to wear leather gardening gloves while handling her -- but for the most part she's pretty sweet, and seems to calm quickly. I cut up some little cubes of apple for her at lunchtime, and she took them from my hand, very politely. Here she is, in her clean and dry and I-hope-to-God-completely-bug-free cage, which is set up in my dining room so the other pets can't get too close (don't know how healthy she is, have my suspicions as to how likely they are to see her as a gourmet lunch).



And here's Rachel holding vigil. She and Leory have been taking turns, for most of the day.

Comments

[xanthophyllippa.livejournal.com]

That's a beautiful bird. Looking at it makes me think that if the council on aging doesn't get back to you, maybe calling the local animal control would help? On the one hand, it might mean that Sweetie would get taken away from Miss B., which could be detrimental to her emotional health given that she seems to be already on shaky ground. But on the other, the animal control people might be able to get in touch with a community resource more quickly than you can. I don't know what kind of town/city you live in, though, and if it's a huge, impersonal place, that might be the wrong way to go about it if there's any chance the control officers wouldn't be sympathetic.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I'm really trying to avoid animal control. I don't live in a particularly huge or impersonal place now, but my experience with AC is from just such a place, where resources are stretched far too thinly and everyone is overworked and overburdened and far too many animals end up euthanized. I'd like that not to be the end for Sweetie; even if I end up having to find another home for her, I'll probably go through a rescue/adoption agency. There seem to be plenty of them.

I'm putting most of my eggs in the volunteer basket at the moment, since I'm not having much luck on my own. Several of my mother's friends do volunteer work through churches and other groups, so they'll quite likely have a couple of suggestions, at least.

I've been wondering about Miss B, in the hospital. I hope that she's not as ill as a full week in the hospital implies. I'm wondering if the hospital aren't Up To Something on their own account. Making arrangements, I mean.

[coco-palmolive.livejournal.com]

Hello! This is a weird point at which to barge into the conversation, but yes, I suspect that the hospital is trying to find a solution as well. Obviously, they don't know what the situation is at Miss B's house, but they can probably tell that she can't really take care of herself any more. Say what you will about insurance companies and cost driving treatment, hospitals are surprisingly adept at gaming the system so that they can get people the help they need.

How did Miss B. get to the hospital in the first place? Any idea?

And I'd also just like to echo everyone here who is really impressed with your commitment to this project. Thank you for rescuing Sweetie. You are doing a terrific job. Thanks for making those calls; I'm sorry you're not getting more results for the time you've put in, but I'm glad your mom + friends are on the job now.

I mean, I really want to thank you personally, I really want you to know how above and beyond you've gone, and how special that is. My own mom spent a year spinning out of control without anyone ever stepping in. All my family ever managed to do was wring our hands from afar until it reached a crisis point. I kept thinking: didn't her friends notice? Didn't her neighbors? Why didn't anyone ever intervene? Knowing how impossible that is, but I wondered anyway. And here you are, intervening on behalf of Miss B.

I pay a lot of lip service to ethics and community and our obligation to other people but I really fail at direct action. So to watch you doing this is inspiring.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I expect that most people really do kind of want, as you said to me once, someone else to take care of things. I'm no exception, truly -- if there were anyone else of Miss B's who could handle these things, I'd be on the phone harassing them right now, but I don't think there is.

You know, though, your mom was on my mind this week. You all did step up, once you realized that things were going more badly than you'd suspected -- we tend to take people at face value when they say they're doing fine, don't we? At least, I know I do -- but I've been thinking how awful things could have gotten if you hadn't stepped in when you did. And even though I'm more sorry than I can say that you're going through all this at all, I'm glad you did it.

So I guess we are providing each other this neat little circle of inspiration in action. Funny how that works out sometimes.

Love and kisses to you, my darling.

Also.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

hospitals are surprisingly adept at gaming the system so that they can get people the help they need.

I really hope so. When she collapsed (she'd only taken a half-dose of insulin; I'm not sure why), she called 911, so paramedics came to pick her up. If she was feeling weak enough when she called, they'd have seen the house, and so maybe they're the ones who set things in motion, if indeed things have been set in motion. *fingers crossed*

Re: Also.

[coco-palmolive.livejournal.com]

That is exactly why I asked -- I was wondering if someone had seen the house when she went to the hospital. I'm betting they did, and I'm betting they're dawdling over her treatment because they're trying to arrange the care she needs. I really hope so, anyway.

Your pets and Sweetie, oh my. I am glad for the French doors. Though I suspect she can stick up for herself in a fight. Parrots are the badasses of the the domestic bird world, in my experience.

Re: Also.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Parrots are the badasses of the the domestic bird world, in my experience.

I have almost no experience beyond what I've managed to get this week, but I have to agree with this. If I hadn't been wearing leather gloves this morning, I might very well have been nursing some serious wounds tonight. Parrots are strong, man, and those bills and claws are sharp.