A Texas mother has been accused of trying to gain attention for herself by subjecting her eight-year-old son to 323 hospital procedures and 13 dangerous surgeries, authorities say.
Police have charged 34-year-old Dallas resident Kaylene Bowen with perpetrating what some call Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental condition whereby a parent subjects a child to unnecessary medical procedures so that the parent can gain people’s sympathy.
Dallas police arrested Bowen after doctors finally raised the alarm about the boy’s medical history. The child’s father said that he had been trying to get someone to listen to his worries for years, Fox News reported.
“It was always the same story: Christopher is dying,” father Ryan Crawford told The Star-Telegram. “The father doesn’t need to be around because he doesn’t know how to take care of him. Every time I went to court, they made me feel like I was the worst human ever.”
The paper reported that Bowen repeatedly took son Christopher to hospitals and doctors throughout the Dallas, Fort Worth area – since he was a two-year-old. At various points, he was forced to use oxygen, was confined to a wheelchair, and was subjected to a feeding tube. Bowen even tried to get the boy put on a lung transplant list at one point.
Ryan Crawford slammed the system for his son’s eight-year ordeal. “It’s horrible for my son, or any kid because obviously, my son is not the only one that has had to go through this type of torture. The system has to be exposed – all the weaknesses that are in the system – because the kids don’t deserve that,” he said.
Kaylene Bowen is housed in the Dallas County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond and was given a court-appointed attorney.
Bowen has not been formally diagnosed with Munchausen, but her actions seem to fit the description of the mental condition. Whether she has the problem or not, doctors have moved to end her son’s constant medical ordeals.
“I am very concerned that mother has moved from exaggerating symptoms to inducing symptoms,” Dr. Suzanne Dakil told investigators during a review of the child’s medical history. “If mother has given Chris something to induce a seizure, this is potentially fatal. At this point, I am very concerned for his welfare.”
Ryan Crawford is currently seeking custody of the boy.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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