DAILY This the story of a man named Jeff and his bird, Freedom. Ten years ago, a badly maimed baby eagle came to Jeff. She could not stand or fly. Both wings were broken, and even after surgery her left wing didn’t operate or open fully. Despite her emaciation and injuries, Jeff made the choice to offer her a chance at life. She took it. After weeks of tube-feeding she still could not stand and talk circled about euthanizing her if she couldn’t stand by the week’s end. Jeff put her in a large dog carrier and took her everywhere, talking to her, urging her to fight for life. All she could do was stare up at him with ‘those big brown eyes,’ sending silent messages. On the Thursday before the last Friday, he went to her cage, and there she was, standing, at long last….a large and beautiful eagle. Named for what she was not ever going to experience under ordinary circumstances, he trained her to the glove, and then to jesses. Freedom became the star of education programs for schools in western Washington, ultimately finding herself in print, on radio and TV. In 2000 it was Jeff’s turn for a bad year. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, stage 3. He did eight months of chemotherapy, loosing hair, strength, and most of that year. When he did feel strong enough He took Freedom for walks. She began to appear in his dreams and he knew she was helping him fight the cancer. The day after Thanksgiving, Jeff went in for his last check up, on a wing and a prayer. His results were ‘freedom from the cancer.’ To celebrate, he took Freedom out for their walk. When they stopped, he looked at her and knew she knew. She wrapped… Read more »
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