interview with stakeholder (family member of sufferer) 29.11.09

grandmother| diagnosed with Osteoarthritis [started with knees, then shoulders & hands] at the age of 75, now 91

- first went to see the dr. when she couldnt kneel on her knees when tidying up low cupboards because of pain.

- prescribed with inflammatory drugs & swinging exercises for the knees.
- hands became progressively more stiff as she had to use them more. (also loss of sensation)

- likes wearing jewelry! but hard to put on necklace, so her family adapted them to open/close using magnets
- enjoys going to family lunches and gatherings, and always likes to try and look her best. when she wanted to put jewelry on she asks her grandchildren to put it on for her.
- can't have day vs. night clothes, so uses a lot of accessories to create different costumes. ex: beads, scarves, brooches..
[here interesting to add magnet idea to clothes, buttons... also can bring in the copper/bacteria idea... for article on copper bracelet click here]

- very hard to button/unbutton her clothes. can't get dressed on her own. needs help. has a carer.. but always appreciates it more when her family help her out instead.

- loves writing! used to write a daily diary, but can't write anymore... sometimes forces herself to write a cheque & birthday cards..
she was thinking of ways that could help her grandma to get back to her diary... ex: recording, voice memoire..

- constant topic:: the grandmother talks a lot about her symptoms and her feelings.. the main discussion happening would be how she slept/ level of pain/ ..
she is sad & annoyed about her OA and misses being independent.

- misses walking around the supermarket/ something she can't do anymore

- a bad day for the grandma would be when she can't sleep properly because of pain.. never comfortable.. no perfect position to be comfortable..

- would rather struggle than sit in her wheelchair

- she loves her special walking stick that can be folded into her bag and has an ivory handle..

- things also mentioned in the interview: velcro shoes, elastic skirts, 2in1 walker+tray, 2in1 umbrella+walking stick