"To stop seeing was hard enough, but to stop laughing would make life very dull indeed,'' she said.
Mrs Woods, a mother of two teenage boys, this week launched a website to coincide with "celebrations'' marking the 11 years she has been blind, and the start of a new career as a life-coach.
At 18, a juvenile form of macular degeneration caused her vision to be impaired.
In 1997, a subsequent viral infection of the retina left her legally blind.
She hoped her experiences would be relevant to people dealing with blindness, or inspire those learning new skills.
"[Losing sight] was frightening, but I thought if I could do basic things like using the telephone again, I could learn other things . . . like domestic chores, especially with two small boys to look after".
"I know what it's like learning new skills and how important it is to stay focused,'' she said.
Learning to read Braille and advances in computer software that reads aloud computer-screen text have assisted her at work, and in establishing the website.
Family, friends, and the "team of wonderful people'' had also made an invaluable contribution to her rehabilitation, she said.
Apart from being a first point of contact for life-coaching services, the website would also contain a "frequently asked question'' section about her visual impairment.
Mrs Woods, who worked at the Foundation of the Blind, Dunedin, for five years, now works part-time for CCS Disability Action, having completed a life-coaching course last year.
