A Texas mother has been arrested for felony injury to a child after she confessed to convincing doctors her son was severely ill, leading to numerous unneeded medical operations.
34-year-old Kaylene Bowen took her son Christopher, 8, on 323 hospital visits since his birth, and lied to doctors that he had a milk allergy and needed a lung transplant due to the severe side effects.
According to reports, Christopher had 13 major surgeries for the alleged illness.
Ms Bowen even started crowdfunding pages to aid in the child’s medical treatments and operations.
Doctors reportedly became suspicious two years ago, and Child Protective Services were contacted, NBC Dallas Fort-Worth reports.
Mrs Bowen would regularly tell doctors during checkips that Christopher would violently ‘throw up’ after consuming milk, Christopher’s father, Ryan Crawford, told the news station.
Mr Crawford said, ‘She started explaining to the judge that the doctors stated my son would never walk.
‘And then she stated that he had problems continuing to eat and that he’s going to need a feeding tube.’
Mr Crawford believes his now ex-wife suffers from a medical condition called Muchhausen by Proxy, or MSBP.
MSBP is a ‘mental health problem in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury in a person under his or her care,’ which is often a child.
Mrs Bowen has since been arrested and charged.
