A tragic recent news story demonstrates that events in life do not always produce the outcomes people anticipate. Shannon Covert, a 30-year old travel agent, reported that she had always longed for a happy marriage with children. Overweight since the age of 7, the young woman frequently engaged in binge eating. She had ballooned to a weight of 371 pounds when she noticed a photo of herself taken at her brother’s wedding; the sight motivated her to decide to embark upon a program of significant weight loss.
Shannon Covert anticipated her husband Robert would approve of her efforts. She had another strong reason to want to shed the pounds also. She had consulted with a fertility specialist about her failure to conceive and had been informed she had developed polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition which she had hoped would improve with weight loss. The condition causes many woman to remain infertile and never experience the joy of having children.
Shannon underwent a stomach “sleeve” surgery to drastically restrict her caloric intake. In November, 2015, she achieved her goal of reaching a slender 165 pounds. Sadly, since attaining this milestone, she suffered deep personal disappointments. Her marriage broke up after her slim new appearance caused jealousies to develop. Shannon Covert also learned she could not become pregnant and would have to adopt children in order to start a family. She has indicated she remains grateful for all the encouragement and support she received during her weight loss efforts, however.
