Fwd: : Love this bird...and the guy

[Guest guest]

Please read entire story

Not many people get a picture of this proud bird

snuggled up next to them!

Freedom and Jeff

Freedom and I have been together 11 years this summer.

She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken wings.

Her left wing doesn't open all the way even after surgery,

it was broken in 4 places.

She's my baby.

When Freedom came in she could not stand

and both wings were broken. She was

emaciated and covered in lice. We made the

decision to give her a chance at life, so I took

her to the vet's office. From then

on, I was always around her. We had her in a

huge dog carrier with the top off, and it

was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to

lay in. I used to sit and talk to her,

urging her to live, to fight; and she would lay

there looking at me with those big brown eyes.

We also had to tube feed her for weeks.

This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still

couldn't stand. It got to the point where the

decision was made to euthanize her

if she couldn't stand in a week. You know you don't

want to cross that line between torture and

rehab, and it looked like death was

winning. She was going to be put

down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in

on that Thursday afternoon. I didn't want to go

to the center that Thursday, because I couldn't

bear the thought of her being euthanized;

but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone

was grinning from ear to ear. I went

immediately back to her cage; and there she was,

standing on her own, a big beautiful

eagle. She was ready to live. I was

just about in tears by then. That

was a very good day.

We knew she could never fly, so the director

asked me to glove train her.

I got her used to the glove,

and then to jesses, and we started

doing education programs for schools

in western Washington .

We wound up in the newspapers,

radio (believe it or not) and some

TV. Miracle Pets even did a show

about us.

In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed with

non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I had stage 3,

which is not good (one major organ plus

everywhere), so I wound up doing 8 months of

chemo. Lost the hair - the whole

bit. I missed a lot of work. When I

felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey

and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would

also come to me in my dreams and help me fight

the cancer. This happened time and time again.

Fast forward to November 2000

the day after Thanksgiving,

I went in for my last checkup.

I was told that if the cancer was not

all gone after 8 rounds of chemo, then my last

option was a stem cell transplant. Anyway, they

did the tests; and I had to come back Monday for

the results. I went in Monday, and I was

told that all the cancer was gone.

So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and

take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty

and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her

up, and we went out front to the top of the

hill. I hadn't said a word to

Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me

and wrapped both

her wings around me to where I

could feel them pressing in on my back

(I was engulfed in eagle wings), and she

touched my nose with her beak and stared into my

eyes, and we just stood there like that

for I don't know how long . That was a

magic moment. We have been soul mates ever

since she came in. This is a very special bird.

On a side note: I have had people who

were sick come up to us when we are out, and

Freedom has some kind of hold on

them. I once had a guy who was

terminal come up to us and

I let him hold her.

His knees just about buckled and he

swore he could feel her power course through his

body. I have so many stories like that..

I never forget the honor I have of being so close

to such a magnificent spirit as

Freedom.

Hope you enjoyed this!

But they that wait upon the Lord

shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Cancer is a strange cell.

You can go along for years in remission

and then one day it pops its head up again.

If you ever have it you will never be free of it.

Pray for the day there will be a permanent cure.

A SMALL REQUEST...

93% won't forward, but I'm Sure You Will.

A small request.....Just one line

Dear God,

I pray that You will guide someone to find a cure for cancer in 2012 .

In Jesus Name, Amen

All you are asked to do is keep this circulating.

Even if it's only to one more person.

In memory of anyone you know who has been

struck down by cancer or is still living with it