Blind Yuba City man: ‘I walk every day, rain or shine’

September 29, 2013 11:17:00 PM

A legally blind Yuba City man has walked the equivalent of going from his home to New York City more than five times without venturing too far out of his neighborhood.

Gene Shogren, 79, started walking four miles a day after suffering a heart attack in 2000, a few years after retiring from Valley Truck and Tractor, where he worked as a mechanic for 29 years.

The avid hunter and fisherman was told by his doctor it would be good for him to take up walking.

"I walk every day, rain or shine," Shogren said.

"My eyesight had started to go, but didn't get real bad until my early 70s," he said.

Shogren suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited eye disease that causes vision impairment and can lead to blindness.

Shogren said he can see a little bit of color and shape but no details.

"Everything looks foggy," he said. "I miss watching ballgames on the TV."

Shogren said he usually gets up about 30 minutes before the sun comes up.

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Blind Yuba City man: ‘I walk every day, rain or shine’