
As lockdown loomed a European musician made a dash for home
Dr Elmar Eggerer is a man of many talents, an accomplished historian and musician; he is a busy man. Playing for well known European ensembles including positions such as the Principal Trumpet with the Vienna Klezmer Orchestra, Principal Trumpet with the Vienna Lakeside Music Academy Symphony Orchestra, Principal Trombone with the Kingstown Medium Band and the Big Band Markus Fluhr, based in Germany it’s a wonder he has time for anything else.
Pseudophakia and more
As if Pseudophakia wasn’t enough to contend with, Dr Eggerer is diabetic. He also receives treatment under the Austrian hospital eye service for Glaucoma. A condition which can if left untreated, lead to the loss of peripheral vision or even blindness. In fact, it is the leading cause of preventable irreversible blindness worldwide. A wide field of view is vitally important to a musician who needs to be able to see his music on the stand. He also needs to see the conductor and all the sections of the orchestra. On top of all this, Dr Eggerer is starting to develop Posterior capsule opacification (PCO). This is a comparatively common phenomenon after cataract surgery and is often described as a thickening of the back (posterior) of the lens capsule which holds the artificial lens in place. The thickening of the capsule means that less light is able to travel through the lens capsule to the retina. Vision can become cloudy or blurred and may cause problems with bright lights and glare. No wonder Dr Eggerer was having problems.International friendship

On the day
After a thorough consultation with BAPAM registered Optometrist and Flautist Amy Ogden who was able to come up with a suitable prescription to help Dr Eggerer to play in more comfort. Enabling him to see his music on the stand, his conductors and his fellow performers. Although Amy was able to calculate a prescription to help Dr Eggerer, making a lens to provide this without any distortion was going to be a challenge. This job fell to Dispensing Optician Sheryl Doe, also a BAPAM registered practitioner and Dispensing Optician of the Year 2019. Also, a cornet player Sheryl understood Dr Eggerer’s many visual requirements. She was happy to come up with a lens design that would provide all the required distances with minimal distortion.
A race against time
As Dr Eggerer visited Allegro Optical in Mid March. This was just as Coronavirus was spreading across Europe and the UK. Delivery and timings were rapidly becoming a bit of a concern. Austria had announced that it was implementing a nationwide curfew while Dr Eggerer was in Meltham. In fact, it was a bit of a race against time for him to make the last ferry crossing back to Germany before the whole of the UK went into full Lockdown. Because all labs moved to Keyworker lens production Dr Eggerer’s lenses were severely delayed. They only went into production in mid-June. Once the lenses were ready and his spectacles had been glazed we posted them to him. We sent them fully insured to Germany where Dr Eggerer was working. Delighted with his new glasses Dr Eggerer immediately left us a fabulous review on Trumpetboards.com, a discussion forum for Trumpeters and Brass players.