Here’s a heartwarming story about a man who’s had PD for decades and is wheelchair-bound, mostly speechless, and rather inactive. However, he bounced back to life when he met Shay, a red-shouldered hawk; Dakota, a red-tailed hawk; and other birds of prey at George C. McGough Nature Park in Florida.
Steve Dittbenner, age 66, developed Parkinson’s disease after he was exposed to chemicals while serving in the Air Force during the Viet Nam War. However, as a young man he had also raised a pet hawk, which allowed him to delight in falconry as a hobby.
On a whim about a year ago, his wife and adult children took Steve to a nearby nature park which was also a preserve for rehabilitated birds of prey. The park ran a special program that helped other veterans, most of whom were struggling with PTSD, to cope with their issues while spending quality one-on-one time with hawks, owls, and an eagle. When one of the park’s officials put Dakota, the red-tailed hawk, on Steve’s arm, Steve’s lackluster attitude and ho-hum behavior flipped 180 degrees.
Now he’s going there regularly, and the benefits are obvious.
Let’s quote directly from the Tampa Bay Times:
Less than a year ago, Dittbenner, a Vietnam-era Air Force veteran was giving up on life. He was “lying in bed all day … not talking at all,” said Lynn Dittbenner, his wife of 45 years. But his recent exposure to falconry, a hobby he enjoyed in the 1970s, has brought him a new spurt of excitement.
Today, seven months after getting her husband involved in the Avian Veterans Alliance [AVA] Program at George C. McGough Nature Park, Lynn thinks he has found a new reason to live. Although the disease has robbed him of his ability to walk and causes his voice to tremble, a surge of energy comes to Steve when he visits the park.
…
“I couldn’t believe it,” [Lynn] said, “I watched him begin talking. It was incredible. It was loud enough for Patrick [the program director] to hear him, in full sentences.”
…
“AVA has given my husband a reason to live,” she said. “Now, we go to the park at least once a week, and when we are not going, he is asking me when we are going.”
Best wishes to Steve, Lynn, and all the birds of prey!
(photo above from the Tampa Bay Times)
BTW, here’s a “bird’s eye view” of what another bird of prey, an eagle, sees as it’s zooming above the Earth!
