(Sr. Santana Pereira)Each organism is a part of an intricately linked system of living and non-living elements and Ecology is a science by which we study how organisms-animals, plants and microbes- interact in and with the natural world.
Ecology deals with:
the ways in which organisms are moulded by their surroundings,
how they may use their surroundings and
how an area is altered or affected by the presence of an organism.
Ecology comes from the Greek word ‘Oikos’ meaning house/dwelling/HOME. How apt then for us to dwell on Eco-Themes as we are in the period of preparing ourselves for GCXIII, which CALLS US TO BE A HOME OURSELVES. The incident given below exactly shows us how to be a ‘home’ …..
More on this theme will follow.. in the days to come..stay tuned in…
A Bald Eagle Named “Freedom”Nursed Back to Health by a Cancer Survivor
A Story of One Bald Eagle’s Magnificent Spirit and Sheer Will to Live
by Jeff Guidry
Freedom and I have been together eleven years this summer. She came in to Sarvey Wildlife Care Center, in Arlington, Washington, as a baby in 1998 with two broken wings and she could not stand. Her left wing doesn’t open all the way even after surgery; it had been broken in four places. She’s my baby.
She was emaciated and covered with lice. I 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, tube-feeding her for weeks. She spent a lot of time in a hugedog carrier with its top removed; it was loaded with shredded newspaper for her to lay on. I’d sit and talk to her, urging her to fight, to live; and she would lie, looking at me with her big brown eyes.
This went on for 4-6 weeks. Sadly, she still couldn’t stand. It got to the point where the decision was made to euthanize her if she couldn’t stand in one more week. You know you don’t want to cross that line between torture and rehab, and it looked as though death was winning. She was going to be put down that Friday. I was to be there Thursday afternoon to make the arrangements. I didn’t want to go; I couldn’t bear the thought of her being euthanized; but I went anyway. When I stepped in, the clerk grinned quietly at me. I was led to Freedom’s cage. She was finally standing, on her own; what a big beautiful eagle. Freedom definitely wanted to live. Just about in tears, I was thankful beyond means.
I took my Freedom back to the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center where I volunteer. 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 (thin straps, traditionally made from leather, used to tether a hawk or falcon in falconry), and we started doing education programs for schools in western Washington. Our story was printed in newspapers and aired on radio (believe it or not) and some TV. Miracle Pets even did a show about us.
In spring 2000, I myself was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It was stage 3, which isn’t good (one major organ, plus cancer cells everywhere else), so I wound up doing eight months of chemotherapy. Lost the hair; the whole bit. I missed a lot of work. When I felt good enough, I’d go to Sarvey and take Freedom out for walks. (In my dreams, Freedom came to me to help me fight my cancer. This happened time and again.)
Fast forward to November 2000: It was the day after Thanksgiving when I went in for my final checkup. I was told that if the cancer wasn’t eradicated after another eight rounds of chemotherapy, my last option would be a stem cell transplant. Tests were taken; I got the results; I was told that all the cancer was gone. Hallelujah! I wanted to soar on wings like eagles.
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Santana great one!