Jayd

It is with such a heavy heart that I report that Jay Sheppard passed away yesterday at home after being on hospice care. I had been taking care of him for a while and he was such a fighter until the end. I miss him terribly and hope he made a mark on the topics of parrot care. I just wanted to let everyone know because, although he was unable toward the end to contribute, he still enjoyed hearing all the new posts. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart... Spock (Maggie Sheppard)

The GreyForums is the truth behind the care and raising if not only the African Grey parrot but also all parrots who grace these pages and enrich our lives so much. Truth is found here. We will try to post weekly.

God bless you! May the Lord go with you. Jayd and Maggie

Last night, I splurged and made fried shrimp for dinner. Since Jay has been home in hospice care, a lot of food choices are hit and miss since his taste and appetite has been also hit and miss….Well, to my unending surprise, Joe has added shrimp to his rising list of foods that he now, after 12 years, have decided to sample and add to his repertoire. By the way, this list now includes cooked broccoli, cooked cauliflower, spinach, peanut butter, and cream or wheat/Maltomeal. Now, when I make Shrimp, I must ensure that Joe has at least 4 for himself…. Sheesh! At this rate, he is going to have to get a Job to help with food costs. Talk about champagne tastes…lol Here are some photos….

Life with an Amazon, especially for anyone who has the pleasure of being owned by one, is never dull or boring. From one moment to the next, I am never sure where I will find Salsa and what I will find her doing. Early this morning for example, while I was getting ready to take care of Jay, I heard a crash in the kitchen and an “Oh GOD!” from Joe…. (always a scary moment) LOL… I whipped around in time to see Salsa rise straight up (like a Phoenix out of the ashes) from my stack of clean dishes in the dishrack, turn sslloooowwwlly from side to side, and sink ssllooowwlly back down out of sight from between the dishes…. OMG! LMAO! After my first round of chores, I was getting ready for the nurse’s visit and I had placed a box of sterile gloves that we all use as part of the items that are needed for home visits out and turned around to reclean the floor after Joe dumped his box of dry spaghetti. I turned around in time to find Salsa picking one blue glove at a time out of the box and dropping it on the growing pile on the floor while watching each flutter down before grabbing another (like out of a Kleenex box)… Life is never dull (or clean) but worth it in laughs and entertainment…

thank you...

It is with great sadness that yesterday, Sunday the 30th, Kittykittykitty (Howardine) moved on to her final reward. I am sure she is standing at the rainbow bridge greeting all who might pass through. She was a true friend of all mankind, the earth, and all HIS wonderful creatures. She will be truly missed..... Haidee, her daughter, contacted us this morning with the news and will keep us informed which we will pass on to you. At this point in time, this is the only information we have. Please say a prayer for Howardine, Haidee and her family. Kittykittykitty will always be a treasured forum member.

Greetings Greytness...thank you! As Jay was recuperating, it took quite a while to bring his O2 levels up and during that time, he said he had no pain and no discomfort. He said most of his sensations and pains came back after about three hours...Now, after being examined by the doctor, his eyes and ears are damaged...He needs 400 dioptic correction in each eye and he is now completely deaf in his right ear and partially deaf in his left. He has no feeling in his right hand and both legs and his pulse is jumping from extremely low to afib territory. Most of the damage (that we know) is to his extremities, ears, and eyes and I have been told to keep a close watch since it could be weeks before we find out the true extent of damage besides the elevated risk of heart failure and strokes...they have also upped his medications and breathing treatments. I am very worried....I really appreciate the kind words and they mean so much to Jay who is really scared right now. Thank you so much!

Just a quick update: Jay's condition is progressively worse. I almost lost him Thursday morning....I woke up and Jay's air was not working properly...his oxygen saturation had dropped to 31...I woke him up and gave him a secondary oxygen bottle so I could bring up his O2 levels. He has some resultant eye and hearing damage from the loss of oxygen and it took a few hours to get him up to his average 91 saturation rate. The nurse said that it will probably take a few days to recover from the oxygen loss. What a time to have run out of wine! 😝 Jay has two to three nurses who come in three times a week to take care of him and Joe, to our total amazement, has just rolled with it. Joe loves one of the nurses and always shows off when she is here (they are put in their cages when they come over) and Salsa just hides out in the corner of her cage. Thank you all for your prayers...Maggie

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all....no matter your beliefs....the season is for peace and love for all mankind. We were put on this earth to share and love, not argue and fight. We were given the knowledge of how to show love and hate but given the stronger knowledge of how to help, heal, and love. We were not put on this earth to end things but to build new foundations....It is far easier for me to look at you, each one of you, and say how much I love you and to praise the Creator to bring forth to you and your families peace and happiness and to reach out to all of you to share love and forgiveness to our fellow men and women. I wish to give and leave with each one of you my love, even though we might be different because all of you are the creators of the future. In prayer, I thank each of you for the honor of sharing the moments of my life. Now, reach out and touch your neighbor and say "I love you" and thank your fellow members of the forum for taking the time for caring and being there for each other. Reverend Jay Sheppard

Please remember that most medications are designed for humans.....try chamomile tea, new toys, or soft singing to start....Our Joe took years before he was comfortable enough to take over the household. Remember, Rome was not built in a day...😄

God bless and thank all of you who have sent prayers and positive thought....I wish you could see the warmth that comes over him (and me too) when I read these posts to him, I will do my best to post more....Maggie

Since Jay came home, Joe (and Salsa) have been by his side and are dealing so much better with the constant influx of nursing staff than I ever expected....here are some photos of Joe watching over Jay, sometimes for hours at a time...Every time I try to get a shot of Salsa, she becomes camera-shy and flies away...lol...Maggie

NEW UPDATE: Jay's condition is so poor, after he and I spent hours talking....he has refused the surgery etc. which would alleviate only one problem because he would be enduring many surgeries and subsequent skin grafts, etc. and would still have the underlying lung issues and CHF. His main reason is to leave the main time, work, doctor's attention and all that goes with it so that someone else with more promise could benefit...His love for mankind is so great ....I will update as we talk to caseworkers, since he will be going into hospice care full-time....thank you and GOD bless each one of you....Maggie and Jayd

UPDATE: They moved Jay from Telemetry to high-risk ICU today. He is on several life-threatening infections they are 😟treating, have said that he will be in the hospital for a long while, and they are contemplating surgery but are unsure he would be eligible because the flight to Las Vegas and subsequent surgery may be too much for him to survive...(wow...😢) so, we shall see....it is obviously in GOD's hands now....Maggie