Horrible fracture (Beware, GRAPHIC) -- what can I do?

He is such a cute Pigeon.

Teresa, i nearly spilled my tea on the computer - that photo is priceless and your text - there are no words :That\\\'s so f

He definitely has feelings in the toes and some limited movement too. Check the position of the toes on the picture.

Teresa wrote:

His Majesty tonight:

'Never mind the photo, WHERE'S MY PILLOW?!!! And get me a tissue -- I've dribbled my water!'

Hahaha too funny! I can't stop laughing! Glad to hear His Majesty is doing so well.

To me he looks like he's saying, 'Just you wait 'till I can put this foot down and walk, then you'll know what I'm made of, poking that camera in my face like that!!'

Janet

jamy wrote:

To me he looks like he's saying, 'Just you wait 'till I can put this foot down and walk, then you'll know what I'm made of, poking that camera in my face like that!!'

Janet

He's one tough pigeon! Very strong too! He always pecks when I change his pillow (hates the inconvenience, but what can I do when he poops on it!) and he pecks hard enough to hurt! If that's him at under 300g, by the time he puts on weight I'm going to need falconer's gloves! :eek:

Teresa wrote:

jamy wrote:

To me he looks like he's saying, 'Just you wait 'till I can put this foot down and walk, then you'll know what I'm made of, poking that camera in my face like that!!'

Janet

He's one tough pigeon! Very strong too! He always pecks when I change his pillow (hates the inconvenience, but what can I do when he poops on it!) and he pecks hard enough to hurt! If that's him at under 300g, by the time he puts on weight I'm going to need falconer's gloves! :eek:

Teresa.............What a heartwarming and amazing story. Hercules is sure an incrediable bird.

You have done such a wonderful job with him. I just love your pictures and captions.

Best wish for his continued recovery.

Louise

Thanks, Louise!

He is a real fighter! I'm just lending a helping hand!

Hercules is desperate for a bath!
Which meant he spent all afternoon trying to get into his drinking water! He got his dressing all wet :eek: and splashed everything!
Right in the middle of a class I had to get him out of his basket, wrapped him in a towel, and continued the lesson on irregular verbs with this growling burrito wriggling in my left arm!

When he was dry I put him back after changing all his bedding, but replaced the water container by a much narrower one. He was not amused...

Oh my goodness!! Hercules makes a mess, gets his bandage wet and growls in class.

But he's such a love.

...And he's ready for LUUUrve, by the looks of it -- he's just started Calling! So that's why he wanted a bath!

Teresa - this is just soooooo funny. This would the right stuff for a comic I think!!!!!!

Teresa wrote:

Hercules is desperate for a bath!
Which meant he spent all afternoon trying to get into his drinking water! He got his dressing all wet :eek: and splashed everything!
Right in the middle of a class I had to get him out of his basket, wrapped him in a towel, and continued the lesson on irregular verbs with this growling burrito wriggling in my left arm!

When he was dry I put him back after changing all his bedding, but replaced the water container by a much narrower one. He was not amused...

Guess what your students will associate with irregular verbs till the end of their lives!

plamenh wrote:

Teresa wrote:

Hercules is desperate for a bath!
Which meant he spent all afternoon trying to get into his drinking water! He got his dressing all wet and splashed everything!
Right in the middle of a class I had to get him out of his basket, wrapped him in a towel, and continued the lesson on irregular verbs with this growling burrito wriggling in my left arm!

When he was dry I put him back after changing all his bedding, but replaced the water container by a much narrower one. He was not amused...

Guess what your students will associate with irregular verbs till the end of their lives!

...Good one, plamenh.

plamenh wrote:

Teresa wrote:

Hercules is desperate for a bath!
Which meant he spent all afternoon trying to get into his drinking water! He got his dressing all wet :eek: and splashed everything!
Right in the middle of a class I had to get him out of his basket, wrapped him in a towel, and continued the lesson on irregular verbs with this growling burrito wriggling in my left arm!

When he was dry I put him back after changing all his bedding, but replaced the water container by a much narrower one. He was not amused...

Guess what your students will associate with irregular verbs till the end of their lives!

I wish that were the case, Plamenh, but I think they will remember the pigeon and forget the verbs!

At least they will keep warm memories for their proffesor.
We allways remember extraordinary things/people in our lives.

...at least!

Teresa wrote:

I wish that were the case, Plamenh, but I think they will remember the pigeon and forget the verbs!

I have to admit, I would have remembered the pigeon first and foremost.

Actually that might not be such a bad thing. Incorporating a pigeon as a learning tool for kids.
There's a good possibility they may begin to relate the goodness of a pigeon with their studies.

Teresa..............Your students will absolutely remember this little bird and you as well always. Hercules is propably one of your best learning tools. He is an absolute case and point of strength, perseverance, and courage in the face of adversity.

It is wonderful that the children can whitness his recovery. I am sure he has touched the heart and minds of many of them. These children will forever look at pigeons from a different prospective than the average person.

Talk about changing the hearts and minds..............I'm sure you have done that for the entire class.

Great job...............wonderful story..............Keep us posted...........and more pictures please.

Louise

You are all right, of course!
Probably all of us remember a time when pigeons were 'invisible' to us, they just happened to live around us but we never gave them much thought. All my students have come to see pigeons as companions, realise that they have different personalities and very interesting traits. And when they see them in the street, they take notice, and they strongly disapprove of any harm being done to them. And all of them have learned the word 'pigeon' in English alongside 'cat' and 'dog'!
They have certainly become aware of them. This afternoon, one of my adult students made me laugh when she said, 'I can no longer cross the park without checking if the pigeons are ok, if there are any that can't fly.'

I love that about your student, checking the pigeons as she crosses the park.
That definitely deserves a .

Hercules's leg bone hasn't set.

Hercules had another X-ray this morning, and by lunchtime I got the heartbreaking verdict: the bone hasn't knitted together, neither does it look like it will.
The vet says the new bone growths are just making a kind of cap round the ends of the fractured bone, but not meeting, the reason being damage to the bone tissue by being exposed through the skin before the operation. He said he'd scraped back to healthy tissue (in so much as possible) but it hasn't worked.
Otherwise, Hercules is in great shape, and weighing in at 320g now.

The vet proposed another operation to join the two parts of the bone with a metal pin 1mm in diameter. He said stainless steel probably wouldn't be strong enough for that purpose, so he was going to phone round his suppliers to see what could be obtained to do the job. He said he would phone me back this afternoon/evening with the news and a quote, but he hasn't yet.

Personally, I don't care if they have to use Titanium and space age technology, I just want to see my baby on his feet.
But I'm also worried about the strain on his system that a second operation will mean, and worried that the movement and feeling we've fought to regain may be compromised again.