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The PDD Memorial Quilt
In loving memory of all victims of Proventicular Dilatation Disease.
In Loving Memory of Smoochy
My Dearest Smoochy,
I miss you terribly. I hope that in telling your story someone else can find the help and answers for their bird, and your memory will live on.
Smoochy was my best friend. In early October 2003, Smoochy started cuddling a lot more than me, making the sound of a baby
bird, looking thin (even though she was eating), and twitching one of her wings. I thought her increased affection was cute, not knowing she was sick. By October 12th, I realized something was weird and different, so I took Smoochy into an emergency vet where I lived. Smoochy was put on Baytril, a general antibiotic for 14 days. 3 days after the visit, we found out Smoochy had Giardia, a small parasite that absorbs the bird's nutrients in its food. Smoochy was put on Flagyl for the Giardia for 10 days. Every time Smoochy took the Flagyl, she would get an increased burst of energy....almost running around like a crazy
bird. I was told there were neurological side effects from flagyl and that this was normal. The first 10 days of the medication, Smoochy was doing better, but never got fully better.
I then took Smoochy to an avian certified vet who was wonderful and did a lot of tests on Smoochy. We re-tested Smoochy for
Giardia about 4 more times. We thought the skinniness was a result of her still having it, as many owners find that Giardia returns to a once infected bird. However, Smoochy was negative with Giardia. In early November, Smoochy had blood work done that showed elevated levels of white blood cells and a high bile acid count. The original vet near my home read the results and determined that Smoochy was having a liver problem and wanted me to biopsy it, which I didn't want to do anything invasive. The avian certified vet that I really liked understood that I didn't want to do anything invasive, so we tested Smoochy for other possible things such as psittacosis and numerous cultures and smear tests. All negative. Smoochy started developing a swollen abdomen (sort of like a pooch to her stomach). We did xrays and sent them to a specialist, who said that
Smoochy's stomach was swollen right where the gizzard meets the stomach. A CT scan was recommended to determine if there was a mass there. I still didn't want to put Smoochy through anything invasive. We did another blood test, and although the white blood cell count and bile acid test improved, both were still high. At his point, Smoochy is looking better, but still a little sick - still sleeping more than normal, still twitching her wing, still with a swollen abdomen, still eating a lot but on the thin side, although maintaining her 107 gram weight. I felt the weight being maintained was a good sign. However, I felt my efforts were the main reason for her maintaining her weight. I fed her baby bird formula twice a day to keep the weight on.
I saw 2 more avian certified vets for a different set of eyes - one tested her for avian tuberculosis and the other tested her for polyoma. Both were negative. Another blood test was done and the white blood cell count was normal, as well as the bile acid test. I asked all 4 vets Smoochy saw about PDD, but none of them thought it was a real possibility as Smoochy wasn't regurgitating or having seeds in her droppings. At this point, Smoochy started permanently leaning her head to her right. The doctors thought this was a side effect of being on Flagyl still.
On the day Smoochy passed away, she looked better than she ever had. Her abdomen wasn't as swollen, I had just received the
results of her latest blood test which was good, and she had a couple weeks of being a little bit perkier and perkier. She literally went from looking great until 2 minutes later looking like death. I went to mix her baby bird formula and 2 minutes later came out with it, and she was falling asleep standing up and didn't want her food - the first time ever! I put her by her food dish, and she started falling over. I rushed her to the vet, where she stayed all day and passed away later on in the day.
She died of PDD, per the autopsy. Her organs were dilated and likely had heart problems her last day.
I miss my best friend so much. I feel like I, and the doctors, tried a lot and a lot of different things. We didn't know it
was PDD because she didn't show the traditional systems of PDD. However, if she had, the end result would have likely been the same. Smoochy was the most affectionate, cuddly, and sweet pet I've ever had. She would sleep with me and wanted to be with me constantly. She would greet me the second I got home, eat, and then sleep on me/with me. In the morning, she'd get up, eat, and then want to be on my shoulder while I got ready. She was my best friend and was always gentle. My last memory of her being alert was when I left her at the vet. I had a tear running down my cheek and she reached up and licked it, as she always would do.
I'm sad because I have other birds who may have been exposed, and I can only sit back and wait and see what happens. I don't want to go through it again. Please stop the horrible disease.
Smoochy, I love you and miss you and will see you again one day in heaven.
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