An Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra violinist, who played her instrument for 2 hours whilst having a tumour removed from her brain, has been named a finalist in the Amplifon Awards For Brave Britons 2020.
Dagmar Turner, 53, a retired management consultant, has reached the finals of the Act Of Courage category in global-hearing specialist Amplifon’s search for ‘The Best of British’.
The unusual approach was taken at King’s College Hospital, London, to ensure areas of her brain responsible for delicate hand movement and coordination — crucial when playing the violin — were not accidentally damaged during the intricate procedure.
German-born Dagmar, who moved to England more than 20 years ago, suffered a seizure in 2013 whilst playing during a symphony and was diagnosed with a large grade two slow growing glioma.
She said:
“The fortunate thing about playing in an orchestra was that there were four retired doctors who were also members so I had immediate medical attention. Initially I received radiotherapy to keep the tumour at bay.”
But late last year tests showed that the tumour had grown and become more aggressive so Dagmar, who is married to Mat, a research engineer, and has a 13-year-old son, agreed to having it removed at King’s College Hospital, London.
Coincidentally, both Dagmar and her surgeon Professor Keyoumars Askan, a trained classical pianist, had a passion in music and they discussed how playing the violin would help in the operation because it would be an indicator that the surgeons were not interfering with the part of the brain that affected her hand and body movements.
Dagmar, who is also a member of other choral societies on the island, said:
“During the operation, which lasted for six and a half hours, I was brought round from the anaesthetic and played violin for two hours while 90 per cent of the tumour was removed.
“I couldn’t feel any part of the operation and couldn’t really believe what was going on. I started by playing the scales and then moved on to pieces of music including my favourite –Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess.”
After 3 days Dagmar was allowed home and when she woke up next morning there was media from around the world outside her home.
Dagmar has been invited to the virtual awards presentation on Tuesday 13th October, when Radio 5 Live breakfast presenter Rachel Burden will host the event, and Falklands War hero Simon Weston will be guest of honour.
