Friday, June 24, 2016

A Family Saved This Bird And It Became The Ultimate Pet

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The tale of how an odd little bird gave an Australian family the strength to forge on after a devastating accident will be made into a major new motion picture.

Starring Naomi Watts and produced by Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea, the movie will follow the fortunes of Sam Bloom, a mother of three children, who fell from a rooftop terrace while holidaying with her family in Thailand, breaking her spine and becoming paralyzed from the chest down.

After months in the hospital and rehab, Sam, then 41, returned home feeling defeated and depressed. But, within a few weeks, her son, Noah, found a baby magpie lying on the street, possibly blown out of a tree. When the family took in the black and white native Australian bird, it brought joy back to their home and allowed Sam to make a new start.

"We called her 'Penguin' because she looked like a penguin," said Sam. "She was just white and fluffy and had really big feet."

In caring for the newest member of their family, the Blooms found that Penguin helped them heal emotionally. 

Cameron Bloom, Sam’s husband and father to the boys, began taking photos of the rescued bird as she settled in with her new human family and then posted them on Instagram. Over 100-thousand people started following the action and New York Timesbest-selling author Bradley Trevor Greive turned their story into a book, the royalties from which go to spinal chord injury research.

The movie will shed new light on Penguin’s journey with the Blooms. But this is what we know so far. 

The Blooms were holidaying on Thailand’s Gulf Coast in January 2013. One morning they went up to the roof terrace of their hotel to take in the view. Sam lent against the patio, which broke, and she fell more than five meters to the ground, and was paralyzed from her chest down. 

When Sam was taken to the hospital, doctors found that Sam was suffering from a fractured skull, bleeding in her brain, and a collapsed lung. Her spine was also shattered.

After surgery in Thailand, Sam was strong enough to be flown back home to Australia. She asked her doctor if she’d ever walk again. "He just went: 'No, you'll never walk again.' And that was it,” Sam said. “So blunt.”

Sam spent six months in hospital and rehab, preparing for a life confined to a wheelchair and crying most days. She hoped her spirits would lift when she got home. 

But once there, she was confronted with the activities she could no longer do, like hiking, mountain bike riding and surfing. "I actually did wish I'd died," says Sam.

See what happens with Penguin enters their lives. 

Then, on a windy day a few weeks later, Sam's son, Noah, found a baby magpie lying on the street. The Blooms took her in, christened her "Penguin", and she quickly became part of the family.

"I loved having her around because she was like company," says Sam. "She was pretty much on my lap or on my shoulder from the moment we brought her home. She was just company and she'd make us laugh."

Sam quickly found a generous pair of ears in Penguin. "I would talk to her, I'd whine, tell her how I was,” she said. "I don't think Cam wanted to hear it anymore. Penguin knows it all."

As much as she loved the Blooms, Penguin would soon have to return to the wild. 

The boys played with Penguin by throwing her sticks and socks, which she'd then catch. "They loved her," says Cameron. He said the bird would often sleep in the bed during the day. “She would just run down the hall and jump up into bed, work her way into the doona (quilt) and then roll over and sleep.”

Cameron started taking pictures of the friendly magpie. "Penguin provided so many crazy opportunities to take photos," he says. He created an Instagram account for her and Penguin soon had thousands of followers.

Penguin soon became more independent and one summer she disappeared for six weeks. She returned on Rueben's 13th birthday and stayed for another eight months.

A year and a half ago, Penguin left the Bloom's residence and hasn't been seen since.The rescued bird's work was done. Sam has taken up kayaking and last summer made the Australian para-kayaking team. 

"I'm out of the wheelchair, I'm in the water and back in nature, which I missed," she said. 

Share with anyone who believes in the healing powers of animals. 

h/t BBC

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Author: verified_user

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