Broken Wings and Cancer: Remarkable Story of Freedom and Jeff
[WHAT A NEAT STORY...AMERICA NEEDS STUFF LIKE THIS RIGHT NOW...OUR FREEDOM IS WORTH PRAYING AND FIGHTING FOR.]
Freedom and I have been together 10 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.
Jeff
When Freedom came in she could not stand. Both wings were broken, her left wing in 4 places. 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, on 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-Hodgkins lymphoma. I had stage 3, which is not good (one major organ plus everywhere), so I would 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.
Yahoo!
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’s.
Hope you enjoyed this!
by RidesAPaleHorse
Source:
* Freedom, Jeff: Inspiring Story of One Man and his Eagle
* snopes: Freedom, Jeff
Images: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/freedom.asp
* One Man, One Eagle: Freedom and Jeff
[...] Freedom and Jeff * snopes: Freedom, Jeff Images: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/freedom.asp * Broken Wings and Cancer: Remarkable Story of Freedom and Jeff Sphere: Related [...]
I KEEP YOUR STORY IN MY FAVORITES TO READ NOW AND THEN. I LOVE IT. I HAVE A BATTLE OF MY OWN THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE 1975. I HAVE HAD 13 HIP SURGERIES ON MY LEFT SIDE AND MY RIGHT KNEE WAS AFFECTED SO I ALSO HAVE HAD A KNEE REPLACEMENT…. IT’S HARD RELYING ON CRUTCHES, WALKERS AND OTHER MODES BUT I HAVE LOTS OF DETERMINATION AND KEEP SWINGING ALONG. I AM 78 AND I HOPE TO HAVE MANY MORE YEARS. I HOPE YOU ARE DOING WELL.
JANE
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A wonderful story about a man and his drive to nurse the Eagle back to health. I too have cancer, since 1995. I’ve fought it through nine thoracotomies and surgery in the hip area. It is a strange and not well known cancer. Liposarcoma. I can understand fully how this man’s love for the Eagle helped him survive. The mind is a powerful tool. I’ve been told, more than once, that my chance of surviving these operations were less than 2%. I was determined to last long enough to ensure the financial situation for my spouse, she being 6 years my junior. Survive them, I did. To the point that I’ve accomplished my goal. I again have a tumor growing in my lower right lobe. It is time that I can (and am) going to refuse the pain of another operation, this time the removal of a lobe. I certainly don’t want to die but I’ve been prepared for quite sometime. Now, my reason to extend my life is personal, it’s for love of family. I once learned, years ago in chemo therapy, to use the mind to help control attacking the tumor. I will use that knowledge, along with the help of my creator to fight. If I survive, great, if not, I’ve been very fortunate and will realize that my time is here. I can only hope that those of you, in mid-life, show compassion for the ill, take close care of yourselves and don’t let a day go by without seeing it’s beauty.
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