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I'm Carole, living in London, happily married and mum to two amazing boys.I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Rectal Cancer in April 2010. Surgery took place in November 2010 and I now have a permanent colostomy...Spinal mets were then diagnosed in October 2011...In January 2012 I was told of further spread to the hip area (multiple lesions)..My life expectancy is now 6-9 months. Walk alongside me on the last part of my experience with this..

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Monday, 16th - Dj saved a life :-)

Djamel wants me to share this with you all -he's a 'life saver'....

Around lunch time today he came to the kitchen and asked what Dizzie the cat was doing in my room banging around and scratching everywhere (Dj's not allowed in my bedroom at the moment as it's almost his birthday and sometimes things are in there that he's not allowed to see, so initially I thought he was just finding a way to try to get inside)

I told him that Dizzie wasn't doing anything in my room because Dizzie wasn't inside, he was out in the garden. At this point he looks genuinely scared and says 'Well what exactly is making that strange noise inside your room then?'

We go together - me expecting to hear nothing but he's right....a really strange banging/scratching noise is coming from inside the fireplace!
Blast! must be a bird that's fallen down the chimney...but then I get this other mad idea that maybe it's a rat or something dodgy....the scratching really doesn't sound like a bird at all.

So together we move furniture and peek inside the vent with a torch to see.... a young starling that's fallen down inside.

I ring Rab and he says he'll be about half an hour (he's the one that deals with things like stray birds in fireplaces - I don't 'do' things like that because I'm too scared of hurting them/damaging wings etc when I get them out).

Djamel being his normal (impatient) helpful self decides to unscrew the vent so when Dad gets home there's less for him to do. I tell him to only take 2 screws (so of course he takes 3!)....



Two minutes after Rab gets home the bird pecks at the vent determined to try and escape and it comes flying off and the starling is then frantically flying around our bedroom like a crazed thing bumping into everything and pecking whatever he lands on in his blind panic.

Rab's running from one side of the room to the other attempting to catch him, Djamel is shrieking and saying 'No daddy, this way - oops, no actually 'this' way now, over here, look over there, now he's gone this way' and Rab says 'Look, I'll catch him but you need to just shhhhh! for a minute' (in other words, just BE QUIET for one minute) LOL.

Eventually after about 10 minutes, I say let's just open the window and see if he'll go out himself - so the daft bird then crashes into the closed window and stuns himself - Rab grabs him quickly....much to Djamel's delight.
Rab calms the bird down, who then repays him by pecking him really hard on the finger - at this point Rab decides time for him to go and releases him out of the window to freedom.



Djamel says 'I saved his life' ....

Just another normal day then :-)

7 comments:

  1. Great story Carole - and well done Dj!
    Its a nightmare when you're in a room with birds fluttering around the place.
    I remember staying in a place in France with my husband and there were bats in our room! They decided to make an appearance when we snuggled up in bed. They suddenly started swooping down at us. We were screaming with fear and giggling hysterically like girls! We made a hasty exit with the duvet over our heads.
    Glad the starling survived - wonder if he's telling his mum about his adventure and his boy rescuer...
    Shents xxxx

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  2. Thanks Shents, I've told him 'Well done' from you. He's still sooo pleased with himself but I'm wondering what he actually DID (apart from let it escape into my bedroom!!)
    He says 'I HEARD it and if I didn't hear it, it would be dead now'...Oh well :-)

    I quite like bats but have to admit I'd have been out the door like a shot if they were actually in the same room I had to sleep in. Probably didn't help watching those ridiculous Dracula films years ago - LOL.

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  3. Well done DJ, he did save a life or at least helped! x

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  4. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!
    Meaning;
    It's better to have a small actual advantage than the chance of a greater one.
    Well done DJ. Tweet Tweet xxx

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  5. Good story!! You have starlings I have racoons. I have one racoon that feels my back porch houses all kinds of treats and goodies for him. He tips over the garbage cans, tries to open them to no avail, scratches makes noise enough to get my attention just to let me know he's there and not planning on moving anytime soon..... Oh and I have a nest of birds in the overhang. lol

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  6. The bird whisperer strikes again !!Thank goodness it wasnt in the night or Dj wouldnt have been so helpful with his covers over his head.
    Rose xxx

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  7. Having a bat in your bedroom is NOT funny. Especially when there's a cat perched on the end of the bed helpfully trying to catch it, whilst you are cowering outside the bedroom door going "No, Phoebe. It's protected bloody species. You'll get me locked up!!!"

    Well done DJ though. Clearly you saved it's life by hearing it AND you helped release it from where it managed to get itself trapped. xx

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