Cockatoo with strange illness

Question
Hello,
I am searching to find someone who knows what is wrong with my Lesser Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo, Sydney.  He is male, approximately 23 years old.  I've had him 22 years.  He is kept indoors (no smoke, chemicals, metals, etc.)  He has always been healthy, lively and a great companion.  I take him outdoors only supervised with me.  He has been on Harrison's for about 15 years and has been under the annual care of an avian vet for the same time.  

In February he fell from my kitchen counter and fractured his beak.  I rushed him to the vet and he was treated immediately, and recovered from the injury very well.  From this day until now, however, he has had a strange illness.  His symptoms are lack of balance--he falls to the right all the time.  He can climb vertically, but has trouble perching on anything except rope and standing on a horizontal surface.  He has trouble walking on the bottom of his cage, so I use a towel to give him traction.  He shivers and flips his wings, and occassionally appears to drift off into a sleepy stupor, then he perks right up.  

He is lethargic but when focused on a toy or piece of wood, he functions normally.  He is very frustrated by his condition and struggles to be normal.  I have had him to two avian vets...all his labs are normal...no metal toxicity, no PDD or inflamation, all tests (done three times) are within normal parameters.  His weight has dropped to 350 gms from about 415 and he appears very thin to me.  

He has become a very finicky eater and I have had to stimulate his eating by hand feeding him baby food, seed cakes and Harrison's Hand Feed.  I also give him Omega-3.  He does not drink enough so I also give him water with a syringe.  His is droppings are good.  My vet has had him on a course of Lupron, hCG and fluids every two weeks.  We are concluding that this is a neurological disorder, tumor or possibly he had a stroke.

I'm hoping you might have heard of this condition and could provide some recommendations.  I really appreciate any information.  Sydney has been such a big part of my life and I'm not ready for him to leave me yet.  Thank you.
Ola

Answer
Hi Ola,

 I am sorry it took me so long to respond. I have been moving and have not had access to a computer.
 
I am so sorry to hear about Sydney's troubles. It sounds like he has had such a wonderful life and the absolute best in care.
I have to say that it sounds to me also like he has had a neurological event of some sort that may have even caused the initial fall.

I have not dealt with this sort of thing personally but do know others who have had birds who have become disable like Sydney and with a lot of extra work, the birds have continued to live what seemed to be happy lives for a number of years.
The only suggestions that I have are these: If you live in an area with a college that has a veterinary program, you might contact them to see if anyone there specializes in avian medicine. If so, they might be able to guide you to an accurate diagnosis. I am in the Atlanta area and am fortunate that UGA has some of the top avian research facilities in the US. Do some searching on the net to see if there is anything near you.  You might also contact Mary Bradford at "The Tropics" bird refuge in North Carolina. I know she has had a great deal of experience in working with birds with a wide range of physical challenges (paralysis, blindness, etc..) She is a wonderful lady.  I am not sure of her current email address but you can try: tropics@juno.com   or look up the refuge website and email her from there. I feel sure she would have some good advice for you.

 I will keep you and Sydney in my thoughts and prayers. I also want to thank you for being one of the "too few" who truly work at providing a safe, healthy, and loving home for one of the worlds most wonderful creatures.

Jan