LUDINGTON— A Northern Michigan handyman who is legally blind is taking steps to be able to get behind the wheel, but before he can do that, he needs some special visual aids to make that happen.
Theodore Nelson is a Ludington man living with Stargardt’s Disease.
It’s a degenerative disease that’s left him legally blind, but he said he can see some things.
He works as a handyman and said he could get more work if he had some visual aids that would allow him to get a restrictive license, that would allow him to drive safely and expand his business.
“Transportation, like I said, is the biggest thing. If I can’t get to work and there’s just, I can’t really work. I can’t go any further because I need a ride and I can’t take a lot of equipment. I’ve had to turn jobs away or help or anything like that many times because I can’t get there. So that’s probably the biggest hurdle right now,” said Theodore.
He said it’s hard to be reliable when you don’t know if you’ll be able to make it to the job.
Nelson said he depends on his fiancée and others for rides, but they aren’t always available.
“Everyone is there for me in my circle, whether it be friends or family for transportation. But they also have their lives. So, they all work. They all are very, very busy and they help me when they can,” said Nelson.
After doing some research, Theodore realized he could get a restricted driver’s license but there are a few hurdles to clear first.
“They’re called bi-optic lenses, so they look like a standard pair of glasses, but they have a telescope in either one or both. And you shift your eyes up and down through each one, which is specific to what you’re using. So, you can see further, you know, objects, people, road signs, etc.,” said Theodore.
They also have other technology that can help.
“There are dash cams with ai assistance in them, so they will give audio cues to anything in your path, whether it be a road sign or oncoming traffic or people stopping in front of you or even at a stoplight. People can go from stop to go. So that alerts you to make sure that you’re flying with traffic properly,” said Theodore.
Specialized driving lessons and a custom vehicle could also help, but the vehicle he needs is pricey.
He’s looking at a miniature Japanese truck.
“When you sit in it, you’re basically you can look out the windshield and basically see your bumper. Well, if I could see the bumper and most vehicles in the United States aren’t like that anymore, except from obviously really large buses and like commercial vehicles. And I don’t want something like that,” said Theodore.
He started a Go Fund Me he said has picked up traction. Theodore hopes he can be an inspiration for others.
“If you are disabled in any way, whether it be visually or mentally, physically, anything, don’t sell yourself short. When I first was diagnosed, it wasn’t ‘I’m not sure if I can do that. I almost convinced myself I can’t do that,” said Theodore.