Claude Wood Talks About Giving Up Driving
Claude, age 100, discusses the eye examination that signaled the onset of his macular degeneration. He talks about how he made the decision to give up driving and his son’s relief that Claude made this decision on his own.
Transcript of Video
NARRATOR: A bald man wearing shirt and string tie.
CLAUDE: About three years ago, I began to see things a little bit fuzzy, and my son noticed that I was having a little trouble reading street signs. So I went to my doctor, and he said, well, he says, you’ve got degeneration in your eyes.
Tough Decision: Giving Up Driving
CLAUDE: My son came down one day and he said, I come down to visit with you a little bit, and I said, listen, I came home from church last night and I saw all the cars were running toward me. I said, I think I’m going to have to quit driving. He wiped his brow and he said, boy, am I glad you said that because, he said, I come down here to talk to you about giving me your car keys.
Advice on Staying Positive
CLAUDE: If you’re blind, that’s not the end of the world. Come on, you can read if you get hooked up with a talking book. You can listen to radio. And I have my neighbors, sometimes they’ll be out for a walk, they’ll just come knock on the door and walk in for a little while. That lifts your spirits a little bit, you know.