Posted on: Wednesday, September 8, 2004
Patient misses Boo, his bird buddy
By Anna Weaver
Advertiser Staff Writer
Bryan Burke misses his bird, Boo, a companion through some challenging times.
Photo courtesy of Cecilia Seabury And in January 2003 he was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also called Lou Gehrig's disease. It was Boo that comforted the 46-year-old, said his sister, Kathy O'Connor.
"He's just always loved animals. He was attached," she said. "Boo used to eat saimin out of his mouth. He'd land on his shoulder, land on his head. They made noises back and forth with each other."
On the evening of Aug. 17, Boo got out of his cage at O'Connor's house, where the bird was staying. Burke was in a hospital with serious health complications and his mother, Cecilia Burke Seabury, had come to visit him.
O'Connor, a Department of Health case manager, and Burke Seabury took out an advertisement in a local publication and left fliers at the Hawaiian Humane Society. Boo had escaped once before, and they hoped he might come back on his own.
If you've seen Boo, please call Kathy O'Connor at 947-2226. The bird is a white-and-gray cockatiel with unclipped wings and long toenails. "My mom didn't tell Bryan at first. But he was asking about the bird," O'Connor said. "His eyes got as big as saucers" when she told him.
"I saw the pain in his face. But I didn't have the heart to keep it from him," Burke Seabury said. "I tried to mitigate his pain by saying, 'Boo has his freedom now.' "
Burke is now at the Convalescent Home of Honolulu. He is on a respirator and unable to speak.
ALS is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that leads to the deterioration of the brain and spinal cord.
"If there was any way we could get (Boo) back, I'm sure that would make Bryan happy," O'Connor said.
In the past few years, Burke's moving company went out of business. With no income, he became homeless, sleeping in parks around Honolulu.
ALS patient Bryan Burke and his cockatiel Boo, who's now missing
But after weeks of searching, there's been no sign of the gray-and-white cockatiel. They made a stop at the Humane Society on Saturday and saw two cockatiels, but neither was Boo.
Missing bird
