(CNN) Fourteen stitches, a black eye and a large bandage are no match for former President Jimmy Carter, who turned 95 last week. Just hours after suffering injuries from a fall in his home Sunday morning, Carter traveled to Nashville to kick off a week of volunteer work.

Carter's injuries were visible to the audience during an appearance Sunday night. Under an Atlanta Braves baseball hat, the humanitarian leader's left eye was partially covered by a gauze bandage. Underneath the eye, purple and red swelling stretched across his cheekbone.

Gripping the podium, Carter began his address by acknowledging his fall while getting ready to go to church on Sunday morning.

"I fell down and hit my forehead on a sharp edge and had to go to the hospital. And they took 14 stitches in my forehead and my eye is black, as you've noticed," he said. "But I had a No. 1 priority and that was to come to Nashville and build houses."

Read More