A Cautionary Tale
“Steve has been my patient for over 20 years and with his permission we documented all the medication prescribed to him in 2006. He has metabolic syndrome: the triad of high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. In 2004 he had a heart attack and also suffers from arthritic knees. Taking an average of 16 pills per day, Susie pocket knitted the equivalent 5,840 pills into a very long scarf; every turn of the cloth chronologically marks the 486 tablets and capsules he took each month from January to December.
“Costume maker Jenny Graham tailored a teddy boy drapes especially for Steve and he has posed for pictures for us a number of times. There is one up in my surgery and he has a framed print of himself in the coat, shirt and pill scarf at the top of his stairs.”
Dr Liz Lee
“Working with Jenny I knitted sections to embellished the cuffs of Steve’s coat with a variety of heart disease medicines available in the UK and his pocket tops show the same for arthritis treatments. The shirt ruffle contains diabetes tablets and the coat fully lined in a silk print of all his medicines.”
Susie Freeman
Photo: Martin Parr
2013