__________________ Merrick _________________
HERALD Using hockey to give back
Schumer outlines goals for new year
Students learn to help others
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Vol. 26 No. 3
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JANUARY 12 - 18, 2023
Seeking new homes: beloved monk parrots By RokSANA AMiD ramid@liherald.com
Herald file photo
MoNk pARRotS, NAtiVE to Argentina, have called various parts of southern Long Island their adopted home for decades. They are known for their ability to adapt.
For decades, many visitors strolling in South Shore parks have heard loud squawking from emerald green birds that, the strollers may have later learned, are not indigenous to Long Island. Monk parrots, native to Argentina and eminently adaptable, have found homes in various parts of southern Long Island. Hundreds are thriving in Merrick, and have become something of a fixture in the community. In recent weeks, however, sightings of the birds
have declined, leaving those who frequent Merrick parks wondering where they have gone. Opinions differ on precisely how and when the South American parakeets made their way to the South Shore, so the real or imagined details of their arrival in the U.S. have become fodder for urban legend. Some claim that an incident involving a broken crate bound for New York pet stores at JFK Airport in the 1960s or ’70s was the beginning of their unintended stateside residency. Others say the birds escaped from homes Continued on page 14
Putting faith over fear: New book aims to inspire women By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Joanne Ameruoso understands the fear that comes with a breast cancer diagnosis. As she has watched several family members succumb to the disease, she has seen firsthand what happens when someone gives up hope. In an effort to change the public perception of breast cancer, Ameruoso began journaling, before realizing that she had enough thoughts and ideas to write a book detailing her own journey. In her newly published memoir, “Faith Over Fear: How my
mom’s fear of breast cancer became my fight,” Ameruoso sought to tell an educating and inspiring story about determination and faith, to help women like her overcome the fear associated with cancer. The book was released in November, and her hope is to get her name and story out there, and eventually create enough momentum to touch the lives of many people.
Her story
Ameruoso, 54, was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Valley Stream before settling in Merrick. She told the Herald that several cancers ran on both sides of her family, the most promi-
nent being breast cancer — despite the fact that the BRCA genes, which put women at a much higher risk for developing disease, do not run in her family. Joanne’s mother, MaryJean, died of breast cancer nine years ago, at 73. Reflecting on her loss, Joanne realized that much of her own health mimicked her mother’s. “I literally followed my mom’s genetic footprints,” she said. “My mom had endometriosis — I had endometriosis. My mom had four miscarriages — I had four miscarriages. My mom had a hysterectomy at 31 — I had a hysterectomy at 32.” Ameruoso opted to undergo a
preventive double mastectomy at 48 — and learned that she had Lynch syndrome, an inherited genetic disorder that puts those who have it at risk for several cancers, including stomach, colon, liver, brain, skin and endometrial cancer. “When you look into the factors of the DNA,” she said, “you dig deep, and you find answers.”
While recovering from her mastectomy, and dealing with lingering depression and anger associated with her mother’s death, Ameruoso’s health spiraled downward in other ways. “Through all my surgeries, there was this deep depression, and I gained weight, and I was so unhealthy,” she recounted. “My Continued on page 2