Jayd

Jay has a 30 gallon fresh water natural filtering fish tank to help supply much needed humidity. Let me describe the tank first....it has a natural soil bottom, has bottom and mid-level live underwater plants, and it has floating fresh water moss and plants (I cannot remember the name of). It has one, 5" foam filter (Air pump), LED multi-colored plant lights, the water temp is 76 degrees, PH is 5.5, and I cannot remember the hardness but it is sooooffffftttt water. It is heavily planted with imported almond leaves, aged Chollo cactus chunks, and contains 30+ crystal red shrimp (1/4 - 1 1/4" long), 5 bronze Tetras, one 3" Cory Cat, and 30+ Madagascar Snails. We never change the water (reverse osmosis), instead just top it off. The tank is topless except for the light to aid air exchange. It is 100% pure and drinkable and everyone, including Salsa and Joe, love to watch it. Salsa, who has never found a bath she did not like, including a water cup, has chosen this as not only entertainment, but as a bath and snack place also. She will sit on the rim, and snack off of small baby shrimp and bathe. She will bury her head under the water (blowing bubbles), dip her wings in, and splash. She does this daily, summer and winter alike...Have you ever seen an Amazon bathe in soft water? She has the best, softest, and shiniest feathers around!! Maggie

After all these years...WOW! Joey never ceases to amaze us....Every time I do dishes, I have two tubs I have for the dishes because I caught Joey trying to drink soapy sink water and eat my sponges (3 LOL...BLEECHH!) Joey loves to keep my company and "tries to help" when I rinse the dishes by grabbing them and tossing them if he can. Well, today...Mr. Joe tried to step inside the rinse water to take a bath (first time in over 10 years since the only way he ever took a bath was in his cage water bowl)...so...I took an 9"x9" Tupperware dish and filled it half full of water and then began rinsing a clean cup while dribbling a little on him in between (I had set the Tupperware next to the rinse water tub). It took about 10 minutes of priming but he began to step into the tub and had a blast! Unfortunately, the video did not come out but, he had a 25 minute bath time and LOVED it! He was dripping wet and feisty afterward....he threw his breakfast dish on the floor, demanded a good nut now, and then turned to demolish his box by the window....and a good time was had by all....Maggie

Sorry I can't get it too work. Talon, Can you please just remove it? Thank you Jayd

Thank you my friend...

Thank you very much....I am so glad your dad had such good care the last year and a half of his life. The VA hospital that Jay is assigned to is the same one a vet lit himself on fire because he could not get an appointment. The VA rule book for care and claims is inches thick. You have access to it online and the rule of thumb is proper wording. For example: you must include a nexus letter stating "It's more likely than not that the injury occurred while in the service". Very few doctors are willing to go on record and make this statement. One recourse a vet has, after being denied the first time, is an attorney. Besides the time and money required for a lawyer, the essence of the claim can be lost and you may still lose. From this point, there are government remedies that are dictated by when and how you can proceed. This adds time to the hope that your claim can ever succeed. The sad part is most claims are determined by a VA employee who makes a decision based on guidelines from a VA manual they use. Media would be unacceptable to the VA and bring them down hard on any claims you have in. Thank you so much for the suggestion! A vet's worst enemy is the VA. For example: if your doctor uses the wrong wording, their doctor will contradict all finding and throw it out. Thank you all, Love, Maggie

Erfan, I am so sorry and I hate to say this; the cage is too small...it has chunks of paint missing which is extremely unhealthy...to properly take care of your baby, you really need to get an appropriate cage. You can go to Walmart.com, Amazon, Foster and Smith's, Cages for Less, etc. Your friend, Jay

Here's great my friend....

We have filed through the Patient's Advocate Program (a complaint), More fun, you will enjoy this....since 2013, we have filed twice through both of Arizona's Senators. They have a standard form that roughly says "Please check into this...etc". They send this with the Senator's name to the VA representing your state. The state sends it to the appropriate person at the VA who pulls your file. They send out a standard form to the Senator/Congressman, files this form with your complaint, and then files this complaint on the bottom of the VA files that are being reviewed. So, this holds you back months and sometimes years. Then, the Senator/Congressman mails you a standard form which is auto signed saying every little thing is hunky-dory, finishing off with "Contact me if there is anything else I can do for you". This actually hurts you because it can make your case longer. We bypass this and went straight to the Patient Advocate and Hospital Director....still waiting... What you hear about the VA is true...the Las Vegas VA Hospital is where two vets have committed suicide (one of whom set himself on fire after dousing with gasoline). Again, thank you for letting me vet.... This is really sad..from experience and my own opinion....we filed that Jay was terminal (to speed up his case), because of what happened while in the service. After filing, we were told by a VA Service Representative that that was the worst thing we could do. Being terminal, they have no reason to rush with your claim. So, our personal opinion is, they are completing new claims before old ones. Jay had a "B" average in high school and with his family's blessing (in 1964, when times were different), Jay dropped out in the beginning of 12th grade to enlist in the Navy at 17. He has never asked for anything other than care from the VA. We praised our sons when they said they wanted to serve their country. Jay would fight right now if he could....we are still waiting and fighting to get him covered....His main claim is Asbestosis lung disease due to prolonged exposure in dry dock on the USS Kitty Hawk starting back in 1965. Asbestosis can take up to 60 years+ to diagnose. He was diagnosed in 2015 but because the word "Asbestosis" was NOT used in the medical paperwork from the doctor, it was denied even though the VA acknowledged that he had worked, unprotected, and exposed to asbestos. Now, in the last claim, we have 100s of papers from many doctors that states he has "Asbestosis" and "More likely than not", he acquired it in the military. We are waiting for the final reports from his medical team to complete his claim. OK, I am NOW done....Jay never talks about this because he loves his country so much but I really needed to get this off my chest...I am so angry on his behalf....

Nice photos...

Did you post them?

I apologize...I am back... You did not upset me....it just gets overwhelming at times. His concentrator now goes to 10 and he runs it at 6 when he is relaxed, 7-8 when sleeping, and 9-10 when I am bathing him, etc. He gets 6 portable E bottles a week. But you know what, there's always some one worse. Your all the best.....

Thank you Howardine....we have filed a complaint with the Patient Advocate at the VA....the wheels turn slowly...When they took away Jay's portable oxygen, he could no longer stand to get into the van for exercise. He has not left the house since he came home from the hospital in January. His oxygen saturation at 5 constant litres is 88-91...if he talks, types, moves, or laughs at a good joke, it drops to the low 70's and the he hyperventilates until he can get his saturation back up...maggie is upset if its ok she'll finish this later jay

Sorry...Player doesn't work VID_20171119_203314487.mp4

Right on Howardine...the VA will only pay for conditions occurred in the military. service...the previous October's bills are $304,000.00...Note: I have not listed all of Jay's medical conditions..... Here is my two-cents' worth ....short version:Jay was put on oxygen from the VA Las Vegas hospital. A new technician was put in charge last October for the Pulmonary Department and at that time started reducing the portable oxygen that Jay received. He was also on a home concentrator for 24/7 use. Around the first of December, he stated that Jay was due for an in-clinic re-evaluation (VA LV N). For the next few weeks, Jay, his local doctor, and I, along with current medical documentation, told this man he could not make it to Las Vegas unless he had a full medical transport (nurse, oxygen, ambulance, etc.). At that point, he gave Jay thirty days to make an appointment and show up at the Las Vegas clinic. Two weeks before Christmas, he cut off his portable oxygen and told Jay he could only use oxygen to transport to and from Las Vegas for his appointment. At this point, he told me to put an adult diaper on Jay and do what I needed to do (He missed seven local doctor visits, including two for biopsies and I have not had an opportunity to see my doctor since December because we went together since I take care of all his needs 24/7). He was in the hospital twice in December and again in January for pneumonia and CHF. Even though we showed all this documentation and proof and the hospital contacted him, the day he was released from the hospital and went home, the oxygen company was waiting to pick up all his bottles and concentrator. (From orders from the VA technician), literally leaving him to die because he cannot survive without oxygen. They did this because he could not make a ten minute appointment in Las Vegas with an oxygen saturation meter on his finger to show he needed oxygen. Thank God we had a used concentrator in storage. We contacted his local doctor and arranged to have a new concentrator and bottles delivered the next day. Jay has never recovered from this incident (and neither did I). Thank you so much for letting me go on and vent....lol I will get off my soapbox now...Jay and the Fids are reminding me that I have to feed them now....

hahaha....

I am sorry Acappella but i must respectfully disagree with your post. My context regarding toweling was concern about getting Erfan's fid back in the cage, only in an emergency. I personally don't feel the bird is terrified....I feel the bird was put in a cage and left alone and is set in his ways. Right now, the trainee is training the trainer....there is always the possibility this bird was and may always be a caged bird.... Pistachio and Buddy, our last rescue birds who have both recently traveled over the rainbow bridge, lived with us for over 13 years and never did let us touch them and until the last three years, would squawk and back up when Maggie had to clean their cage. They never lost trust because they never fully trusted us. If they flew to the floor, or out of their boundaries, the would step up and let Maggie pick them up although the beaks were always open. They lived a wonderful life with each other and thanking us for food and treats by singing to us and talking to us while keeping us at arm's length. Erfan, your fid has far more luggage than has been unpacked so far. Right now, it has you trained at what your baby wants. You walk by the cage, he squawks, you put your hand in the cage, he squawks....you're trained. At this point, no trust will be lost, right now he is just aware that you just feed him. You need to learn what you feel is right despite his yelling ...you need to have consistency in everything you do around him. Do you have a current picture of him in his cage? Love you all, Jayd

Well, we got Jay's hospital bill !!!!! Over $400,000.00 +.(non VA part).. Now we're really sick....lol Jay says, he's going to get a job......

This is our youngest son, William, he was wounded in Iraq. He remained in the Army for ten years after being wounded until his injuries became debilitating. He left with an Honorable Discharge, his Purple Hearts and other medals...he's one of the heroes...he lives in Germany with two wonderful boys.

God bless you Howardine, from Jay and I....thank you so much! You can't believe how much these prayers have helped both of us....

Thank you so much Karen and all our friends who have supported us... Love Maggie and Jay

Erfan ..Only 2 nuts a day !! Put a good seed mix 24/7, ....Amazon online, Volkman's no sunflower seeds or Tops seed mix. Nuts are full of fat, =Fatty acid disease, I missed that, I'm sorry....

Yes just follow instruction, don't hold too tight, be gentle....

Erfan I'm sorry, your grey must be terribly confused moving from room to room, food being changed with not enough time to adjust to whether he likes it or not, changing light and activity levels from room to room, taking a possible ally and companion away just when he was starting to adjust and get a more normal sense of being...waiting until you move in before opening the cage door? How does that help? If he can't fly and he shouldn't right now, read a post on the forum about toweling. We had two beautiful rescue birds for over ten years that we rescued from a drug house. One was fragile and one was huge but were inseparable against the world. You could not get near them, they would fling themselves against the cage and bleed. Maggie used distraction by using a towel on one hand while cleaning the cage with the other. They lived a loving life...we could never hold one of them but they stopped trying to attack eventually. Keeping a Grey in your room where you sleep is extremely unhealthy for you because of the dust factor. It is possible to develop breathing or allergic reactions later on. You have to make goals, set them, and follow them through. https://www.itsagreysworld.com/articles/toweling.htm

My friend you have to clean the cage at the minimum every other day....Yes you have to work with him..Does he fly? Is he clipped? Will he come out of his cage by himself and go back in?