In one of my Abnormal Psychology classes this week, we went over factitious disorders. This is described as a falsification of physical or psychological signs, symptoms, induction of injury, or disease. There are a couple of specific disorders under this category, but one of them reminded me of a very popular story. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is not very common, but it is imposing the falsification of a medical issue on another. In most cases, it is inflicted on an elderly parent or child because of their vulnerability. The case that came to mind was Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose. I could not find if they actually diagnosed Dee Dee with this disorder, but experts do believe she had this mental illness, and her motivation was to receive attention and sympathy for taking care of a sick child alone.
Dee Dee began pretending that, her daughter, Gypsy rose had a variety of illnesses since she was born (1991). She claimed Gypsy had sleep apnea, then when she was eight told people that she was suffering from leukemia and muscular dystrophy. To make these claims seem true, she made Gypsy practically live in a wheelchair and use a feeding tube. Dee Dee would add to the list of medical problems over time to include seizures, asthma, and hearing/visual impairments. She got away with getting prescribed several medications and a breathing machine because she claimed Hurricane Katrina had destroyed the documentation of Gypsy’s diagnosis. She would also stop seeing any doctors who questioned the validity of her daughter’s medical issues. She had some nurse’s training, so she could accurately describe symptoms and would even give Gypsy medication to mimic certain symptoms. All people saw from the outside was that Dee Dee was a charming and devoted mother, so people believed her and helped however they could.
She made Gypsy go through countless surgeries and when her teeth started to rot, due to her medications or missing salivary glands removed during surgery, they were pulled out. The truth was that Gypsy could walk, did not need a feeding tube, and was not bald due to cancer. She was bald because her mother would shave off her hair so no one would be suspicious. Dee Dee also told Gypsy’s father, Rob Blanchard, that their daughter had a chromosomal disorder that lead to many health issues. Dee Dee also lied about Gypsy’s age, going as far as altering the dates on her birth certificate so people would think she was mentally younger than she was.
In 2011, Gypsy tried to get away from her mother by running away with a man she had met at a science fiction convention, but Dee Dee ended up tracking them down. She then proceeded to tell the man that Gypsy was a minor when she was actually 19. When they got home, she smashed the computer and restrained Gypsy to her bed. Eventually Gypsy got back online where she met another man, Nicholas Godejohn, through a Christian dating site. She explained her situation to Nicholas and started to plan how they would kill Dee Dee so they could be together. In June 2015, he came to their house and stabbed Dee Dee while Gypsy was hiding in the bathroom. They then went back to his place and posted on her shared Facebook account with her mother, “That b***h is dead!”. That is what started the investigation in this case and everyone who knew Gypsy and her mother were shocked.
People criticized Gypsy for killing Dee Dee when she could have just walked out of the house and exposed her mother’s lies. However, Gypsy had spent her entire life being controlled and monitored by her mother. She knew that she was able to walk and did not need a feeding tube, but she genuinely believed she had leukemia.
Today, Gypsy is healthy, and even though she is in prison and is eligible for parole in 2024, she enjoys her freedom there over her life with her mother.