In November last year, Ads got a bang on the head at camp whilst white-water rafting. It wasn't a big bang and didn't leave a bruise or any marks, but it did leave a legacy of random mid field blindness in one eye. The doc who examined him at the time thought it was a bit of concussion but sent him to the eye specialist anyway, just to make sure. Over the next couple of months it occurred again several times, each as a result of a small bump on the head, but went away again in January just before the eye doc confirmed that there was no damage inside his eye to be considered responsible for his being so one-eyed, and it didn't came back.

That is, until June. On this most recent occassion I took him to see our GP, who referred him to a paediatrician. His paediatrician appointment came up last Tuesday (on his birthday of all days) and the outcome was to schedule an MRI, appointments for which generally take weeks or months to obtain. His only took 7 days and came up today.

So, 8 o'clock this morning we were at the clinic ready to slide him into the Giant Magnet. He was quite ok with the whole thing until the operator pushed him into the tube, at which point he became a little upset. The answer was for me to sit at the end of the table and hold his foot for half an hour, which is what I did. So I sat there, book in one hand, foot in the other, wearing earmuffs and listening to the banging and clanging sounds change every time I yawned (well it WAS early) and was very pleased to be able to confirm that what the gynocologist who put the titanium clips in me when performing my tubal ligation said about titanium not being a very attractive metal was 100% correct. I don't think I need to verify that they don't set off airport scanners either. I'll take his word on that.

So, only a couple of hours after getting home from that, I got a call on the phone from Healthcare NZ who hold the contract for my cleaning. Well, actually, some woman called Rachel got a call because she was supposedly at my house doing my cleaning. On being told she wasn't here, this person said that she must still be on her way. I have to wonder where she was coming from cos it's been 13 hours now and she still hasn't shown up. Mind you, someone called Rachel didn't show up (just the same) about 4 months ago, too. I wonder if they are related?

Seriously, though, this company perfectly demonstrates that a business doesn't have to have a fucking clue to be able to rack up government-funded home help assistance money while failing to fulfil the contracts that they hold. They have big staffing problems, according to the boss, who said they lost 19 staff in a very short time a few months back. That was when the incomparable Sylvia left us. So now, instead of supplying the required 5 hours a week my contract states, they haven't sent anyone for nearly 4 weeks, except a woman who arrived, unannounced last week, half an hour before I had to go out, despite the fact that it was not her day to be rostered on anyway. She was a bit pissy about it all.

And of course they sent Rachel, who I am starting to worry about because either she has driven off a bridge and is lying badly injured or dead, or she just doesn't exist.

Rachel, if you are reading this, please phone the office, Jenny is looking for you.