Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:15):
On Vision Australia Radio. This is Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
S2 (00:23):
I'd like to introduce you to Edward Delgado. We call
him Eddie because he's our friend Eddie. Welcome. Thanks so
much for your time. Really appreciate you speaking to us.
S3 (00:32):
Thank you very much for your attention to me.
S2 (00:35):
Eddie. You started to lose your sight at about the
age of 60.
S3 (00:38):
That's correct.
S2 (00:40):
Tell us what happened.
S3 (00:41):
Well, I had an operation for cataract in my left
eye by, um, doctor Professor Fred Hollows. And, um, but
he didn't. He didn't do the operation himself. It was
one of his assistants, and, um. Unfortunately, the operation went
(01:07):
bad because I developed, which is called a spike or
a sudden glaucoma, which is a sudden and very, very,
very elevated pressure of the internal fluid of the eye,
which can cause a lot of damage. And practically it
(01:29):
can do it from one day to the other. And
I was told after the operation if I experienced pain
or loss of vision, sudden loss of vision to contact them.
And I which I did. That was in there, if
I remember rightly on a Wednesday and they couldn't see
me until Saturday morning. And by then it was too
(01:53):
late and I was practically lost all vision in my
left eye, which was my good eye.
S2 (02:01):
And I'd imagine that was a fairly unusual occurrence that
cause a lot of cataract operations go very smoothly.
S3 (02:08):
Well, I understand it's a pretty unusual occurrence after that. Um,
Professor Horrocks declared me, um, legally blind and put me
under the care of, um, then the Royal Blind Society.
And I decided to go to a different path to retrain.
(02:32):
And I chose computers. And at that time, in 1992,
it was very much in the in the infancy. I
never touched a computer before in my life. And that
was a very good experience because I learned from from
the basics, from those. And after that it was a
(02:53):
window 3.1, which is a long time ago, and I
like it, I like it, and after receiving Received basic
training from the Royal Society. I went to the TAF
and I got a call for three years and I
(03:14):
learned all the principles of microcomputing and including including touch type,
which is I'm glad I did it because in those
days I could see some. I have some vision in
my right eye, because in that eye I had a
(03:37):
which acute myopia and I had, which is called macular degeneration,
myopic macular degeneration, not age related.
S2 (03:50):
What about your attitude, Eddie? What made your attitude be
so that a you wanted to learn computers and b
then do a TAFE course about it? What what what
made you think like that?
S3 (04:01):
I enjoyed all that. I well, all my life I've
been I've been very keen on, uh, on gadgets and
electronics and I've never developed any. I was, I was
a musician in my country. I played there in the
local symphony orchestra. And when I come to Australia in 1972,
(04:22):
I wanted to be good enough to, um, join the
the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. That's what I wanted. But unfortunately
I was too old then. I was in my in
my 30s. So it was a it was a lot
of competition and younger people and, um, I never achieved
(04:46):
that goal. But I played in most of the symphony orchestras,
amateur symphony orchestras in Sydney.
S2 (04:55):
So what instrument did you play? Eddie?
S3 (04:58):
The double bass. The big fiddle.
S2 (05:02):
That's a pretty cool instrument, isn't it?
S3 (05:05):
Yes.
S2 (05:06):
I knew the cool dudes played the double bass.
S3 (05:10):
Um.
S2 (05:11):
Yeah.
S3 (05:12):
And, um, I played for many years in the in
the Northern Chamber Orchestra, which is based in mainly in
Northern Beaches. And, um, that was a very good experience
because it was a very good orchestra, had very good standards,
and the majority was was young people, and I was
(05:34):
double the age of most of the, the performers. And
they treat me very well, and.
S2 (05:42):
They probably kept you young and you probably kept them wiser.
S3 (05:45):
Absolutely, absolutely. I had a very good time there, and
it's been one of the happiest experiences of my life.
S2 (05:56):
And what about and what about learning computers? And particularly
I believe you also enjoy using voice activated technology as well?
S3 (06:06):
Yes. Yes, absolutely. After I left computers, I well, I
get acquainted because in 1996, after developing certain skills, I
got a job in, in, in Telstra in the call
centre in Darling Harbour. That's it. It was a good
(06:31):
experience to me because it was a very good environment,
and that one has been the best job I ever
had in my life. And, um, well, I got the
job thanks to Vision Australia or Royal Society was then.
S2 (06:48):
Yeah.
S3 (06:49):
They got me that job. And, um, with assistance, of course.
And I have to use, um, zoom, zoom text. No,
it wasn't zoom text in those days. He was a
he was a different I can't remember now. It was
a different adaptive technology, but it needed to magnify the
(07:12):
screen of the computer for me to use it. But
in those days, I had enough vision to use one
line at the time. Do you understand?
S2 (07:25):
Yep, yep.
S3 (07:25):
Mind if I11 line at a time of the screen.
And that's the way I managed to to perform my
my duties.
S2 (07:34):
You have to have a lot of you have to
have a lot of patience for that, wouldn't you, Eddie?
S3 (07:37):
Oh, yes. Um, and and I enjoy that because, um,
I also use Jos, and now I've been using zoomtext
from for a long number of years, and I use
now I use Zoomtext and magnify reader.
S2 (07:56):
Now.
S3 (07:56):
You also use a computer.
S2 (07:59):
I believe you also use voiceover.
S3 (08:01):
Oh, yes. is. Um. Eventually I got acquainted through my.
Through my son. I got acquainted with the with the iPhones,
and they showed me the phone, and they they thought
that it couldn't be able to use it. But by
using VoiceOver, I learned to navigate and got no problem.
(08:26):
Now I use my iPhone and I reckon series my
best friend.
S2 (08:34):
Now I believe you read books, for example with your iPhone.
S3 (08:38):
Oh yes, I have read more books. Audio books from
the library. I have read audiobooks in my life, that
I read print books, and I was a very good
reader because I lost my, uh, before I lost my sight.
(08:58):
And the last book I read in 1997 was a
book that my sister gave me. It was ten anos
de Soledad A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia
marquez in Spanish. And I remember I managed to read
(09:19):
the last page of that book with a magnifying glass.
S2 (09:23):
You put a lot of patience about you, Eddie. Hey, Eddie. So. Oh, yeah.
At the age of 16, you've lost a lot of
your sight. You've had to kind of relearn a lot
of skills. Learned the computer virtually from scratch. What would
you say to people who think, oh, I'm too old
to learn new tricks? That's not really for me. What
would you say to them?
S3 (09:43):
I was an old dog. New tricks. And what I said,
I always say to all old people. Now, at the moment,
I'm 96 years old. And technology.
S2 (09:59):
Eddie, it's.
S3 (10:00):
Always I keep being very curious about technology. I always
tried to to learn everything. The latest development at the
moment I got Gemini, Google, Gemini in my phone and
I got, um, Microsoft Copilot and I got a lot
of fun having a conversation. And having an argument with copilot.
S2 (10:29):
They come pick on fights. You can win. Hey, Eddie, uh,
on a serious note, I believe you've got granddaughters. They
must think grandpa's pretty cool, don't they?
S3 (10:38):
Oh, the girls have been very helpful to me because
young kids from the beginning, they have accumulated me to
stimulate my curiosity and show me new things, new tricks.
And with my iPhone particularly, and, um, with my computer,
(11:02):
although I use a computer, a windows computer, and they
all use Apple. Apple. In any case, they always been
next to me helping me in that regard.
S2 (11:16):
Oh, I can understand why they'd want to be hanging
around you. Eddie, you sound like you'd be great.
S3 (11:20):
Oh, they love me.
S2 (11:23):
I can believe that, Eddie. You're a bit of a
fan of Vision Australia radio, too, I believe.
S3 (11:27):
Absolutely. Yes.
S2 (11:31):
Yeah. Uh, well, it's good to have you as part
of the family now. Not only do you listen to us,
but you also speak to us. And people can hear
you on the radio.
S3 (11:40):
Well, like I mentioned to you, I've been having a
Vision Australia client for a long time. For many, many years.
And since it was, um, Royal Blind Society in Enfield,
I used to go there and then and the, the
people I remember the the The first trainer that I had,
(12:03):
it was a lady called Mary, and she was blind.
And she was my inspiration because she had no vision.
And she she described me everything that she was doing.
And I said, if she can do it, I can
do it too.
S2 (12:18):
Yeah.
S3 (12:19):
And the other one, the other one I knew there
he was, David Woodbridge.
S2 (12:24):
He must have been a bit younger then. I reckon
he's pretty old now.
S3 (12:31):
Yeah.
S2 (12:32):
And that's fantastic. Well, I think again, that's such an
important lesson that you learn from someone who's been through
similar things. And when you see what they can do
and they can inspire you, it gives you that bit
of confidence. And you're now doing that to other people.
S3 (12:47):
Yeah, I, I had a few job that I got
him through Vision Australia and also with, with some vision
impaired people and we had a very good company, whatever
they were, all this camaraderie. Yeah. I said, all right.
S2 (13:10):
Hey, Eddie, we're out of time. But it's been an
absolute joy talking to you. Thank you. Well, thank you
so much for getting in touch with us and telling
us a little bit about you and the fact that
now we've learned a little bit more about, uh, what
makes you tick, and also giving us a lot of
inspiration to try new things. Don't be afraid to try
new things.
S3 (13:29):
I thank you for for your interest. And on my person.
S2 (13:34):
Eddie Delgado there lost his sight at 60. Started learning computers, technology.
What an inspiration. What a wonderful role model.
S4 (13:46):
Thank you for listening to Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
You can find this interview on the Focalpoint podcast. This
show was produced in the Adelaide studios of Vision Australia Radio.
On Vision Australia Radio. This is Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
S2 (00:23):
I'd like to introduce you to Edward Delgado. We call
him Eddie because he's our friend Eddie. Welcome. Thanks so
much for your time. Really appreciate you speaking to us.
S3 (00:32):
Thank you very much for your attention to me.
S2 (00:35):
Eddie. You started to lose your sight at about the
age of 60.
S3 (00:38):
That's correct.
S2 (00:40):
Tell us what happened.
S3 (00:41):
Well, I had an operation for cataract in my left
eye by, um, doctor Professor Fred Hollows. And, um, but
he didn't. He didn't do the operation himself. It was
one of his assistants, and, um. Unfortunately, the operation went
(01:07):
bad because I developed, which is called a spike or
a sudden glaucoma, which is a sudden and very, very,
very elevated pressure of the internal fluid of the eye,
which can cause a lot of damage. And practically it
(01:29):
can do it from one day to the other. And
I was told after the operation if I experienced pain
or loss of vision, sudden loss of vision to contact them.
And I which I did. That was in there, if
I remember rightly on a Wednesday and they couldn't see
me until Saturday morning. And by then it was too
(01:53):
late and I was practically lost all vision in my
left eye, which was my good eye.
S2 (02:01):
And I'd imagine that was a fairly unusual occurrence that
cause a lot of cataract operations go very smoothly.
S3 (02:08):
Well, I understand it's a pretty unusual occurrence after that. Um,
Professor Horrocks declared me, um, legally blind and put me
under the care of, um, then the Royal Blind Society.
And I decided to go to a different path to retrain.
(02:32):
And I chose computers. And at that time, in 1992,
it was very much in the in the infancy. I
never touched a computer before in my life. And that
was a very good experience because I learned from from
the basics, from those. And after that it was a
(02:53):
window 3.1, which is a long time ago, and I
like it, I like it, and after receiving Received basic
training from the Royal Society. I went to the TAF
and I got a call for three years and I
(03:14):
learned all the principles of microcomputing and including including touch type,
which is I'm glad I did it because in those
days I could see some. I have some vision in
my right eye, because in that eye I had a
(03:37):
which acute myopia and I had, which is called macular degeneration,
myopic macular degeneration, not age related.
S2 (03:50):
What about your attitude, Eddie? What made your attitude be
so that a you wanted to learn computers and b
then do a TAFE course about it? What what what
made you think like that?
S3 (04:01):
I enjoyed all that. I well, all my life I've
been I've been very keen on, uh, on gadgets and
electronics and I've never developed any. I was, I was
a musician in my country. I played there in the
local symphony orchestra. And when I come to Australia in 1972,
(04:22):
I wanted to be good enough to, um, join the
the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. That's what I wanted. But unfortunately
I was too old then. I was in my in
my 30s. So it was a it was a lot
of competition and younger people and, um, I never achieved
(04:46):
that goal. But I played in most of the symphony orchestras,
amateur symphony orchestras in Sydney.
S2 (04:55):
So what instrument did you play? Eddie?
S3 (04:58):
The double bass. The big fiddle.
S2 (05:02):
That's a pretty cool instrument, isn't it?
S3 (05:05):
Yes.
S2 (05:06):
I knew the cool dudes played the double bass.
S3 (05:10):
Um.
S2 (05:11):
Yeah.
S3 (05:12):
And, um, I played for many years in the in
the Northern Chamber Orchestra, which is based in mainly in
Northern Beaches. And, um, that was a very good experience
because it was a very good orchestra, had very good standards,
and the majority was was young people, and I was
(05:34):
double the age of most of the, the performers. And
they treat me very well, and.
S2 (05:42):
They probably kept you young and you probably kept them wiser.
S3 (05:45):
Absolutely, absolutely. I had a very good time there, and
it's been one of the happiest experiences of my life.
S2 (05:56):
And what about and what about learning computers? And particularly
I believe you also enjoy using voice activated technology as well?
S3 (06:06):
Yes. Yes, absolutely. After I left computers, I well, I
get acquainted because in 1996, after developing certain skills, I
got a job in, in, in Telstra in the call
centre in Darling Harbour. That's it. It was a good
(06:31):
experience to me because it was a very good environment,
and that one has been the best job I ever
had in my life. And, um, well, I got the
job thanks to Vision Australia or Royal Society was then.
S2 (06:48):
Yeah.
S3 (06:49):
They got me that job. And, um, with assistance, of course.
And I have to use, um, zoom, zoom text. No,
it wasn't zoom text in those days. He was a
he was a different I can't remember now. It was
a different adaptive technology, but it needed to magnify the
(07:12):
screen of the computer for me to use it. But
in those days, I had enough vision to use one
line at the time. Do you understand?
S2 (07:25):
Yep, yep.
S3 (07:25):
Mind if I11 line at a time of the screen.
And that's the way I managed to to perform my
my duties.
S2 (07:34):
You have to have a lot of you have to
have a lot of patience for that, wouldn't you, Eddie?
S3 (07:37):
Oh, yes. Um, and and I enjoy that because, um,
I also use Jos, and now I've been using zoomtext
from for a long number of years, and I use
now I use Zoomtext and magnify reader.
S2 (07:56):
Now.
S3 (07:56):
You also use a computer.
S2 (07:59):
I believe you also use voiceover.
S3 (08:01):
Oh, yes. is. Um. Eventually I got acquainted through my.
Through my son. I got acquainted with the with the iPhones,
and they showed me the phone, and they they thought
that it couldn't be able to use it. But by
using VoiceOver, I learned to navigate and got no problem.
(08:26):
Now I use my iPhone and I reckon series my
best friend.
S2 (08:34):
Now I believe you read books, for example with your iPhone.
S3 (08:38):
Oh yes, I have read more books. Audio books from
the library. I have read audiobooks in my life, that
I read print books, and I was a very good
reader because I lost my, uh, before I lost my sight.
(08:58):
And the last book I read in 1997 was a
book that my sister gave me. It was ten anos
de Soledad A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia
marquez in Spanish. And I remember I managed to read
(09:19):
the last page of that book with a magnifying glass.
S2 (09:23):
You put a lot of patience about you, Eddie. Hey, Eddie. So. Oh, yeah.
At the age of 16, you've lost a lot of
your sight. You've had to kind of relearn a lot
of skills. Learned the computer virtually from scratch. What would
you say to people who think, oh, I'm too old
to learn new tricks? That's not really for me. What
would you say to them?
S3 (09:43):
I was an old dog. New tricks. And what I said,
I always say to all old people. Now, at the moment,
I'm 96 years old. And technology.
S2 (09:59):
Eddie, it's.
S3 (10:00):
Always I keep being very curious about technology. I always
tried to to learn everything. The latest development at the
moment I got Gemini, Google, Gemini in my phone and
I got, um, Microsoft Copilot and I got a lot
of fun having a conversation. And having an argument with copilot.
S2 (10:29):
They come pick on fights. You can win. Hey, Eddie, uh,
on a serious note, I believe you've got granddaughters. They
must think grandpa's pretty cool, don't they?
S3 (10:38):
Oh, the girls have been very helpful to me because
young kids from the beginning, they have accumulated me to
stimulate my curiosity and show me new things, new tricks.
And with my iPhone particularly, and, um, with my computer,
(11:02):
although I use a computer, a windows computer, and they
all use Apple. Apple. In any case, they always been
next to me helping me in that regard.
S2 (11:16):
Oh, I can understand why they'd want to be hanging
around you. Eddie, you sound like you'd be great.
S3 (11:20):
Oh, they love me.
S2 (11:23):
I can believe that, Eddie. You're a bit of a
fan of Vision Australia radio, too, I believe.
S3 (11:27):
Absolutely. Yes.
S2 (11:31):
Yeah. Uh, well, it's good to have you as part
of the family now. Not only do you listen to us,
but you also speak to us. And people can hear
you on the radio.
S3 (11:40):
Well, like I mentioned to you, I've been having a
Vision Australia client for a long time. For many, many years.
And since it was, um, Royal Blind Society in Enfield,
I used to go there and then and the, the
people I remember the the The first trainer that I had,
(12:03):
it was a lady called Mary, and she was blind.
And she was my inspiration because she had no vision.
And she she described me everything that she was doing.
And I said, if she can do it, I can
do it too.
S2 (12:18):
Yeah.
S3 (12:19):
And the other one, the other one I knew there
he was, David Woodbridge.
S2 (12:24):
He must have been a bit younger then. I reckon
he's pretty old now.
S3 (12:31):
Yeah.
S2 (12:32):
And that's fantastic. Well, I think again, that's such an
important lesson that you learn from someone who's been through
similar things. And when you see what they can do
and they can inspire you, it gives you that bit
of confidence. And you're now doing that to other people.
S3 (12:47):
Yeah, I, I had a few job that I got
him through Vision Australia and also with, with some vision
impaired people and we had a very good company, whatever
they were, all this camaraderie. Yeah. I said, all right.
S2 (13:10):
Hey, Eddie, we're out of time. But it's been an
absolute joy talking to you. Thank you. Well, thank you
so much for getting in touch with us and telling
us a little bit about you and the fact that
now we've learned a little bit more about, uh, what
makes you tick, and also giving us a lot of
inspiration to try new things. Don't be afraid to try
new things.
S3 (13:29):
I thank you for for your interest. And on my person.
S2 (13:34):
Eddie Delgado there lost his sight at 60. Started learning computers, technology.
What an inspiration. What a wonderful role model.
S4 (13:46):
Thank you for listening to Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
You can find this interview on the Focalpoint podcast. This
show was produced in the Adelaide studios of Vision Australia Radio.
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