Gum on My Shoe

All dogs are therapy dogs. Most are just freelancing. — Unknown I’m going to be honest. I wasn’t keen on the idea of Fran house and dog sitting. She’d been depressed for a while and from my perspective additional responsibility was the last thing she needed. I knew she’d done it in the past but that was a long time ago. Fran heard me out. She took my concerns on board. She spent the best part of a day thinking it over carefully. And decided to accept her friend’s invitation. This wasn’t a problem for me. It’s how we work. Each of us feels safe enough to be honest about what we think and feel. We ask each other’s advice and offer suggestions when invited, but we make up our own minds about things. I was totally behind her decision, once it had been made. There were only a couple of days to get ready but she’d only be away for a weekend so there wasn’t a lot to prepare. The big day arrived and Fran moved into her friend’s house. When I joined her on our evening video call she w...

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...

TW: Mention of suicide and self-harm

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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