I touched on this matter some time ago.  Little did I know just how priceless this life principle would become.  Through last year, I was often lost in my chronic conditions.  After I saw the joy a little pet brought to our sons - one had a budgie, the other cared for a dog - I wondered if this might help us too.

Sammy Banks the budgie, is one year old now.  I though he might be ‘good’ for us, but I didn’t realise just how much joy he would pour into our hearts and minds.  The more difficult my conditions become, the more precious Sammy is to us. He trusts my wife enough to jump in and out of her hand in the kitchen sink for his shower.  But this doesn’t last very long.  Wet feathers make for hard fling.  But he does come back for more.  I think the main reason Sammy means so much to us is because he trusts and accepts us just as we are, regardless of what’s going on for us.  Sam is great medicine.