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What Happens at an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening?

In a previous blog post I mentioned being invited to attend an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening (also called an AAA screening). I thought I’d describe how it went for anyone who receives a similar invitation and wonders what an AAA screening actually involves. Disclaimer The following is taken from the information I was given in advance and my personal experience on the day. If you have any questions or are in any way unsure of your own situation consult your doctor or other health professionals. What Is an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm? The aorta is the main blood vessel that supplies blood to your body. It runs from your heart down through your chest and abdomen. An abdominal aortic aneurysm is caused by a weakness in the wall of the aorta that can develop in some people as they get older. Large aneurysms are rare but can be very serious. If left untreated the wall of the aorta can burst. About eighty-five out of a hundred people die when an aneurysm bursts. An AAA is m...
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How to Be There for a Friend When You Don't Understand

TW: Mention of suicide and self-harm
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What the Pictures Don't Show

By Rebecca Lombardo I couldn’t stop staring at the pictures. I’ve pulled them up on my phone more times than I can count, just trying to convince myself they’re real. The first time I saw that “before” picture, I was completely flabbergasted. I knew I was overweight, but I had no idea it looked like that. We didn’t even have a full-length mirror in the house at the time, so I never really saw the full picture. But seeing them side by side? It stopped me. More than a year apart, and it feels like I’m looking at two completely different lives. Back then, my day-to-day life was the best I could make of it while living with crippling depression and constant pain. My knees were so bad that just getting to the restroom meant using a walker. Some days, even the smallest tasks felt overwhelming. I knew I was struggling. I knew my quality of life had changed drastically. But the pain was so intense that I could only focus on getting through a couple things each day. Even something as...
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Our Top Posts of the Month (May 2026)

Check out our top blog posts for the past month. Posts are listed by the number of page views they attracted during the month, most popular first.
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Last Place Is Still a Place — But So Is the Sideline

This post was inspired by a story I saw on Tumblr. Apparently there was some kind of race scheduled at a local park or something so I’ve been trying to avoid the main trail but a little while ago when I had to cross near it I overheard the following shouted exchange. Higher feminine voice: woo, look at you go! You’re jogging! Keep it up! Lower masculine voice (panting): you know it! Last place is still a place, baby! And god damn if that didn’t rewire my brain a little bit. Last place is still a place, baby. I saved the link, knowing I’d want to explore it further. When I returned I saw it had attracted the following comment . I know of a trail racing company that gives the slowest racer who finishes every race a DFL award: Dead Fucking Last. I was a little taken aback by this until I had it explained to me that those last-place finishers are pretty much uniformly people for whom finishing at all was an accomplishment: people undergoing cancer treatments, absolute beginne...
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Man to Man: Thoughts on Manhood and Mental Health Inspired by a Conversation at a Wedding

TW: Mention of suicide and suicidality
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Be the Most Encouraging Person You Know: A Call to Action for Mental Health Awareness Week

Even small actions can help us feel hopeful and less powerless.   — Mental Health Foundation Organised by the Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) is an annual campaign to highlight the importance of good mental health. MHAW 2026 runs from May 11–17, inclusive. Previous themes have included body image, kindness, nature, loneliness, anxiety, movement, and community. The theme for MHAW 2026 is action. Action: for yourself, for someone else, for all of us We’ve chosen Action as this year’s theme because, while awareness is vital, real change comes when we take action too. Together, we’ve come a long way on mental health, but we can’t risk going backwards. There’s still much we can do to prevent people becoming unwell in the first place. We can interpret the call to action in many ways. Inspired by a recent conversation the action I’ve chosen to focus on is encouragement. That might not seem particularly relevant or useful given the challenges we f...
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