Earlier this year, we learned that June Shannon is going blind in her one good eye. That is not good. But that’s not the only change in her health.
Recent From Not To Hot clips show that June has regained some of the weight that she so famously lost.
Now, Mama June is opening up about exactly how much she has regained … and how it happened.
Speaking to People, June Shannon reveals exactly what she’s experienced during her new brush with blindness.
“It’s been physically and emotionally draining,” June says.
Any health battle can takes it toll, but in this case, she has needed help from others to perform what were once simple tasks.
June explains: “Losing my independence and having to rely on other people for everything has been crazy.”
You ever get injured and suddenly you need someone’s help just to shower or get dressed? It can be maddening.
“I can’t do anything,” June explains. “And have to lay down most of the time and take care of my vision.”
That would definitely explain why has has regained weight. Obviously, recovering her eyesight has to take priority over her figure.
”I have to worry about that right now,” June emphasizes. “That’s my main concern.”
As for how much weight she’s regained?
25 pounds, she reveals.
That can be hard to lose, but considering that she lost hundreds of pounds, that’s like a drop in the bucket.
June explains that she’s not going to try to re-lose that weight right away, saying: “I’m just focused on getting my vision back.”
As she explained, she needs to rest. Sometimes, exercise can help the healing process — but sometimes, it can actively impede recovery or make things worse. That latter applies when you’re recovering from eye surgeries.
But June is confident that, when the time comes, she can shrink back down.
“I can lose the weight, I know that,” she says.
Good for her.
But she makes it clear that she will avoid gaining too much weight, even while she concentrates on her eye.
“And I know I don’t want to go back over 200 lbs,” she says. “I’m paying attention to it more.”
June is completely blind in her right eye, but she’s accepted that.
Losing vision in her left eye is serious business.
At prsent, June rates her left eye’s vision as “a four out of ten,”
That doesn’t sound great, but she sounds satisfied.
June makes it clear that she has realistic expectations for her eyesight, saying: “Nothing is guaranteed.”
That’s true enough.
“Even if it stays as good as it is now,” June says of her lingering eyesight. “I’ll be happy.”
June and boyfriend Geno Doak have temporarily relocated to North Carolina so that they can be close to Duke hospital, a world-class medical facility where they can monitor and treat her eye.
But while June is focused on recovery and managing her expectations, some of her fans are dismayed that, after all of the work that she did to transform her body, she has regained this weight.
First, this is a special circumstance. Injuries or ailments that impair mobility tend to interrupt regular exercise, from walking around the house to actively working out.
That can really throw you off of your rhythm and cause weight gain.
Second of all, the grim truth is that almost everyone who loses weight eventually regains at least some of it.
Human bodies adapted for survival during times of scarcity, and are very good at storing energy as fat. Not even weight loss surgeries are a guarantee.
June Shannon is a problematic individual with a worrisome history, but we obviously hope that her eyesight makes a full and speedy recovery.
While “grandma’s eyesight isn’t what it used to be” might sound like a normal thing to say, remember that though she is a grandmother, she is only 38 years old.
There’s no good age at which to go blind, but 38 would be a very bad age for it.
Let’s hope that she continues to get the rest that she needs. Exercise can come later.
