Clare- My interest in rescuing birds came from a little starling my grandson brought to me, I named him GG (Gods Gift) which came to me after loosing my father. He gave me a focus that summer. My eyes became open to the bird world. Next came a cockatiel named Fritz, who had been rescued from a family that had toddlers and didn't know how to care for a cockateil. He still can't be held or petted, but is healing slowly. Another starling came my way, then Clare entered my life, a paralyzed sparrow. Her story is a pure miracle to me. Late in the summer I found a sparrow with her head caught in the feeder, my daughter and i were able to get it free and released it. Late fall another sparrow was found with her head caught in the gutter of our trailer, we were able to release her again, I am fairly certain this was Clare. Then in February I noticed a failing sparrow at the feeder, seemed her balance was off and she tripped into the water container A few days later my husband found her tangled in the fence, her legs useless - upside down, he had to unwrap her leg from the fence, when i got home she was in the spare cage, only moving her head, tilted to one side we set her next to the food and water so she could have access to it. 3 times a day i would go in and clean her featherbun, as she couldn't move. About 3 weeks into this, she seemed to go downhill, i began putting 'tonic bitters' , vitamins and corn syrup in her water and hand watering her about every hour. after 24 hours she began to recover some. I had classical music going so she wouldn't get lonely, i spent time through the day checking on her and just spending time with her. About 6 weeks into her care, i began noticing her left leg beginning to move, within a week her legs were functioning, it took a few more weeks for her feet to be usable. She still has occasional balance problems, so is not releasable. She plays games, peek aboo, how fast can i do u turns, and pretending i am a pylon to zip around. The little spirit chose to live, refusing to give up, I often wondered what kind of life would it be if she never regained her legs, but I believe she would have been worth all of the work involved. Patience is the best thing for rehabbing, eventually Clare has learned to trust me, eats out of my hand and we have interesting conversations as she inspects art projects! I also got her some finch friends, they stay in their cage but it seems to have brought her out of her shell, and she began interacting more. She is a pleasure and well worth the time and commitment.