The brain tumor caused double vision

Mikael Enström is a musician and was working as a driver when he suffered a brain tumor that gave him double vision. Medically there was nothing to do, but optometrist Per-Åke Östman in Umeå, Sweden, had an idea.

This is Mikael's story.

- I had a shunt operated into the brain in 1985 due to a blockage in a channel, a ventricle in the brain. Then 11 years passed and I suddenly suffered double vision. I was a postal driver at the time so I couldn't drive a car and I called the hospital immediately. They did an MRI and established a brain tumor of four millimeters. When I sat with the doctor, he said that I couldn't drive anymore and that I would have to change jobs. It was a tough message to receive - I loved my job!

Per-Åke Östman:

– Mikael came to me from the eye clinic. His brain tumor caused his eyes to be directed straight down. He couldn't look up and the doctors wondered if I could do anything for him.

– Then I remembered that there are lie-down spectacles where the prism can angle the image 90 degrees. With this solution, we could send the image down where the eyes were pointing, so I let him try on prisms and he could see straight ahead, just as we wanted!

– I made spectacles for Mikael with such a correction and he became as happy as a child – he could function normally. We had to change the spectacles a few times to get it perfect but from having to stop working, not being able to read sheet music or anything, to functioning normally again – it's been like a dream for this guy. And it's also so much fun that he dares to have these cool frames for his strong spectacles.

And Mikael agrees:

– It means everything to be able to see again. After all, I am a musician, and being able to read sheet music is very important to me. With these spectacles, the image is sharp even when I look down at the sheet music. Fortunately, the tumor is benign and cannot be removed, so I am happy that it is possible to live with it and have a normal life, now that I can see.

– And when I've had symptoms, such as problems with headaches or double vision that I've had at some point, I don't call the hospital. I call Per-Åke! He has helped me immensely.