Honey Boo Boo’s Mama June Legally Blind: Cataracts Untreated So Long Surgery Would ‘Do More Harm Than Good’
![Mama June](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/230673/mama-june.jpg?w=256&f=2bc8b95fdf369f4510880db76f2a1026)
Mama June Shannon, the endearing mother on TLC's hit reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, announced this week that she is legally blind.
According to the American Foundation for the Blind, the criteria for legal blindness are: visual acuity of 20/200 or less even while using glasses or contact lenses or a visual field of less than 20 degrees (meaning severely inhibited peripheral vision). People who meet the criteria are called "legally blind" because their poor eyesight prevents them from doing basic things like getting a license and could determine their eligibility for disability benefits and tax exemptions.
Daily Mail reported that Honey Boo Boo's mom had cataracts when she was a child that were never treated properly. A cataract is a clouding that occurs on a normally clear lens of a person's eye. The only proven effective treatment for cataracts is surgery, something that a spokesman for Mama June said would be too risky at this point.
"She can't have surgery because they believe it could do more harm than good," a TLC spokesperson told the Daily Mail. "The damage is that bad."
Episodes of the show have subtly documented Mama June's troubled eyesight. In one episode, she admitted that she was afraid to go go-karting because of her blurry vision. In other episodes she can be seen squinting and holding her phone just inches from her face in an attempt to see.
"I'm not going to lie to you, my eyesight was a little blurry," she said.
There is no word on whether Mama June's condition will be directly addressed on the show.