10-22-24 SuperMax's Last Healthy Day

It seems the deeper we love, the more painful the process of recovery after our human or animal companion dies.
For the past 2 days I noticed Max seemed to be eating less, sleeping more, and having difficulty pooping.
Last night he ate scrambled egg and seemed very happy, but I did not see any poop. While observing Max on my videocam system last night after he went to sleep, I did notice what appeared to be poop on the white towel used in his cage.
This morning when I went into the front room and looked in his cage, it was not poop but the scrambled eggs he ate last night.
Taking him to my avian vet as an emergency, he was examined and the vet noticed his cloaca (also called a vent, it's the rear orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive, reproductive, and urinary tract waste materials) was swollen. After inserting his finger, the vet noticed a hard mass inside, which indicates a possible tumor mass. Next the vet inserted a long swab into the cloaca and noticed fresh blood, so he performed an x-ray.
The x-ray revealed a calcified aortic arch indicating arterial plaques in the heart and surrounding blood vessels; this usually means the entire arterial system has plaques. The x-rays also revealed a state of advanced bone caner, this would explain his instability and difficulty standing.
Examination of Max's eyes revealed cataracts in both eyes, and this would explain his inability to see.
Based upon Max's inability to poop, the mass felt above the cloaca and the fresh blood, it was determined that Max had a tumor of unknown origin, and since there is no treatment for this, it was decided that Max should be euthanized.
Upon necropsy after Max passed, a huge obstruction was seen in his cloaca, that has probably taken years to develop. This was preventing him from pooping, and causing him pain whenever he tried to poop.
Although Max may have spent his entire live in a cage, he did have 5 days with us, to be outside in the sun so he could sing and celebrate his new freedom, and to finally eat they types of food he always wanted to eat, especially fresh banana.
Since he had an advanced variety of problems like the bone cancer, the obstruction and large tumor in his cloaca, there was no real treatment that could safely help him to recover and live a live like the rest of his avian roommates.
The vet thought Max was at least 60 years old based upon his necropsy, not 40 like I initially thought.
All of my Macaws had health problems when I purchased them or adopted them except for Kida my 21 year old female Military Macaw.
Paco was also kept in a small cage and had lost significant strength in her leg muscles. Gomez and Carlos were both underweight. Gizmo has issues with her wings, most likely due to physical abuse from her original caretakers. Simon, like Max, was never let out of his cage, and was never handled.
After time and healthy species-appropriate food, all the birds now are healthy.
I will never forget Max. He had the spirit of a warrior to live all those years without the freedom to explore life, and without the food needed to prevent the chronic diseases that ultimately led to his death today.
Thank you Max for giving me 5 days of your beautiful spirit and soul, I am very sorry and very sad you left us; we will never forget you.
This video was made on 10-22-24 when Max was still eating and pooping.
SuperMax joined the flock on my birthday 10-19-24.
SuperMax was euthanized for the reasons mentioned above on 10-24-24.