TLC Amy Slaton-Halterman welcomes her first child with husband Mike Halterman, a baby boy named Gage.
Amy Slaton is one of the co-stars on TLC‘s hit reality show “1000-lb Sisters” and suffers from an eye condition.
Fans fell in love with Amy and Tammy Slaton as they shared their unique lives and their journey to lose weight. But what isn’t often talked about on the show is Slaton’s rare eye condition, which leaves her legally blind.
Before Amy and Tammy were famous for their TLC show, Amy was YouTube famous. She often shared about her and her sister’s experiences, including the many health conditions she suffered from outside of her weight.
Here’s what she’s said about her eye condition:
Amy Slaton Revealed on YouTube Her Eye Disease Was Caused by Toxoplasmosis
Slaton suffers from a disease called congenital toxoplasmosis that she explained she contracted while her mother was pregnant with her.
“One of the cats that my mom had had [toxoplasmosis] … and she would clean up after the cats, or whatever, and she was pregnant with me,” Slaton said in the February 2015 video, as Screen Rant reported on October 4.
The Mayo Clinic describes toxoplasmosis as “a disease that results from infection with the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, one of the world’s most common parasites. Infection usually occurs by eating undercooked contaminated meat, exposure from infected cat feces, or mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy.”
The disease can cause severe eye infections and inflammation of the retina, according to the Mayo Clinic, which indicates that “often, infants who are infected don’t develop signs … until their teens or later.”
Slaton has often been targeted by viewers who think she is on government aid due to her weight. She explained that isn’t the case in the same YouTube video.
“I am legally blind, and that’s why I’m on social security. It’s not because of my weight, it’s because I am blind,” she said. “I’ve been like this all my life, I was born this way. When I was younger I was diagnosed with toxoplasmosis, which in layman’s terms, that is what they call scars in my eyes.
“As you can see, one eye is straight, and this goes this way,” Slaton said on YouTube. “That’s part of my blindness, and also I got astigmatism in that eye.”
She said she’s expected to go fully blind in the next few years.
“By the time I’m 35 I’ll be completely blind because my scars are growing,” she said.
Slaton underwent weight loss surgery and had a child over the course of her seasons on TLC.
Season 3 Is Coming Soon, Tammy Said on Social Media
In April 2021, Slaton revealed a massive weight loss with side-by-side bikini photos on Instagram.
At one point, Slaton was as low as 270 pounds, according to Soap Dirt.
Unfortunately the other half of the Slaton sisters wasn’t as successful in her weight loss journey. Tammy wasn’t able to get the weight loss surgery due to her failed pre-surgery weigh-ins.
“I just wasn’t doing what I needed to do. I mean, sometimes I try to eat healthier, and then other days I’m like, ‘What the heck’s the point?’” she said at her final weigh in, which was featured last season, according to Showbiz Cheat Sheet.
The good news is there’s a season 3 in the works and Tammy told a fan on social media it should start airing in January 2022, according to TV Season Spoilers.
“Tammy and Amy Slaton have captivated us with their fun-loving personalities, heartfelt challenges, and uplifting victories,” Alon Orstein, SVP Production and Development at TLC told Deadline. “We admire their genuine, evolving journeys and we are rooting for them as they pursue paths toward healthier lifestyles.”
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Amy Slaton’s Eye Condition & Blindness Explained