Munchausen Syndrome and Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Story

Munchausen Syndrome and
The Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard
ELIF IŞIL ARSLAN
FAT M A N U R A K D I
The Beginning of The Lie
That Ended In Tragedy
A daughter who was stricken by cancer, muscular
dystrophy, and a host of other diseases but still smiling
every chance she got, and a mother who was devoted to
giving her daughter everything she ever wanted. For over
20 years, they were the seemingly perfect picture of
inspiration and hope.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard grew up with her mother, Dee Dee
Blanchard, making claims about her health that resulted in
a series of dire diagnoses and medical interventions.
However, Gypsy wasn't actually unwell, her mother had
been lying about her symptoms since she was born.
Experts believe Dee Dee's behavior came from the mental
disorder Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
What Is Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy?
Munchausen syndrome by proxy(MSP) is a mental health disorder in which a caregiver, most
often a mother, routinely makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms in a child or adult
victim to make it appear that the victim has a true physical or mental health issue.
Many people with MSP exaggerate or lie about a child’s symptoms to get attention. They may
also create symptoms by poisoning food, withholding food, or causing an infection. MSP can
affect anyone, but it’s most commonly seen in mothers of children under age 6.
Since a parent or caretaker with MSP often appears to be caring and attentive, doctors usually
don’t suspect any wrongdoing. Diagnosis can also be difficult due to the person’s ability to
manipulate doctors and induce symptoms in the child. As a result, MSP cannot be detected in
many cases.
The Childhood Of Gypsy
Rose Blanchard
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born on July 27, 1991, in Golden
Meadow, Louisiana. Shortly before her birth, her mother Dee Dee
Blanchard and Rod Blanchard had separated. Though Dee Dee
described Rod as a deadbeat drug addict who had abandoned his
daughter.
According to Rod, he was only 17 years old when 24-year-old Dee
Dee became pregnant with Gypsy Rose. He soon realized that he
“got married for the wrong reasons.” Despite separating from Dee
Dee, Rod remained in contact with her and Gypsy Rose and
regularly sent them money.
First Lie
When Gypsy Rose was an baby, Dee
Dee brought her to the hospital,
convinced she had sleep apnea.
Though there was no sign of the
disease,
Dee
Dee
remained
convinced, eventually determining
herself that Gypsy Rose had an
unspecified chromosomal disorder.
From then on, she watched her
daughter like a hawk, fearing disaster
could strike at any moment.
Diseases Are On The Rise
Then, when Gypsy Rose was around eight years old, she fell
off of her grandfather’s motorcycle. Dee Dee took her to the
hospital, where she was treated for a minor abrasion to her
knee. But she believed that Gypsy Rose would need several
surgeries if she ever hoped to walk again. Until then, Dee Dee
decided, Gypsy Rose would remain in a wheelchair.
After taking Gypsy Rose to a hospital in New Orleans, Dee
Dee claimed that her daughter now had problems with her
vision and hearing. In addition, she claimed that the child had
begun to suffer from seizures. While medical tests showed no
signs of any of these diseases, doctors against all odds
prescribed medication for Gypsy Rose.
Last New Home
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina forced Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose
Blanchard to move north to Aurora, Missouri. There, the two
became little celebrities, acting for the rights of disabled people
and the sick.
Habitat for Humanity built them a house with a wheelchair
ramp and a hot tub, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent
them on trips to Disney World and gave them backstage passes
to a concert.
Through her experience as a nurse assistant, Dee Dee was
familiar with most diseases and medications. She used many
drugs to provide appropriate symptoms. She told Gypsy she
had cancer and she cut her hair. They would fall anyway. Gypsy
couldn't eat because she was sick. That's why she was fed
through a tube inserted in her stomach. Gypsy's teeth were
falling out one by one because of the drugs she was taking.
First Suspicions
Doctors in the country were volunteering for Gypsy's treatment.
Maybe there was something they could do to make the little girl well.
Of course, if Gypsy was really sick.
One of these doctors, Bernardo Flasterstein; offered to see Gypsy
Rose at his clinic. But while she was there, Flasterstein discovered
she didn’t have any of the diseases that Dee Dee claimed she had.
When Dee Dee brushed him off, he began to make calls to doctors
in New Orleans. Though Dee Dee claimed the hurricane had
washed away all of Gypsy Rose’s records, Flasterstein was able to
find doctors whose records had survived.
After talking to them and confirming once again that Gypsy Rose
was a healthy child, he began to suspect that Dee Dee was the one
who was actually sick. It’s since been suggested that Dee Dee had
Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
By the way Gypsy Rose had also begun to suspect that there
was something seriously wrong with her mother.
As she got older, Gypsy's suspicions grew, too. Although she could walk, her mother was forcing her
to stay in a wheelchair. Although she could eat, she had to use a feeding tube. Her patience was
exhausted when she learned by coincidence that her real age was 19, not 15.
Ever since then, she’d been attempting to escape from her mother. One night she even showed up
at her neighbor’s door, standing on her own two feet, begging for a ride to a hospital. But Dee Dee
quickly intervened and explained the whole thing. She said she talked like that because of her mental
problems. Her ability to stand was the result of years of hard work.
It was impossible not to believe this good-hearted mother who won everyone's love. Gypsy failed to
reach its goal. She began to look for other ways to escape. With that hope, she made a plan to run
away with an older man she had met. However, her mother caught Gypsy in her hotel room with the
police. When they got home, Gypsy was exposed to various reactions from her mother. Dee Dee
chained her daughter to the bed for 2 weeks.
Gypsy's Search For Help
After the incident, Gypsy Rose began using the internet again
for meet men in online chat rooms when Dee Dee went to bed.
No matter how hard Dee Dee tried to keep her away, Gypsy
was somehow able to access the internet. Though her mother
chained her to her bed and threatened to smash her fingers
with a hammer when she found out about her online activities,
Gypsy Rose continued to chat with the men, hoping one of
them could save her.
Finally, in 2012, when she was about 21 years old, she met
Nicholas Godejohn, a 23-year-old man from Wisconsin.
Godejohn had a criminal record and a history of mental illness,
but Gypsy Rose didn’t care that. A few months after meeting,
Nicholas Godejohn came to visit Gypsy Rose and while Dee
Dee was watching film in the cinema, the two had seen each
other in the toilet. After that, they began to plan Dee Dee’s
murder.
The New Beginning
Through Facebook messages, the two planned the
demise of Dee Dee. Godejohn would wait until Dee Dee
had gone to bed, and then Gypsy Rose would let him in
so he could do the deed. Then, one night in June 2015, it
was done. While Dee Dee was sleeping in her bed,
Nicholas Godejohn stabbed her 17 times in the back while
Gypsy was hiding in the bathroom so she wouldn't hear
her mother's screams. Shortly after Dee Dee died, the
couple fled to Godejohn’s home in Wisconsin, where they
were arrested just days later.
The next day, people who took action with Gypsy's
Facebook post found Dee Dee's body covered in blood at
home. Although it was thought that poor wheelchairbound Gypsy was kidnapped at first, the details of the
incident became clear when the couple was caught.
The Judgment Process
Gypsy Rose Blanchard later revealed that she had posted the message
because she wanted her mother’s body to be discovered. Although she
certainly didn’t plan on being caught, her arrest eventually gave her the
opportunity to finally share her real story with the world. And before long, the
sympathy that had always followed Dee Dee passed to Gypsy Rose.
At the age of 24, people could not recognize her with her long hair, walking
and self-expression. Gypsy Rose Blanchard, she pleaded guilty to seconddegree murder in 2016 and was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in prison. It is
expected to be released in 2024. (Nicholas Godejohn was sentenced to life in
prison for first-degree murder.)
Meanwhile, Gypsy Rose has since researched her mother’s condition and has
come to terms with the abuse she suffered. She is regretful for the murder but
saying she is better off without Dee Dee.
“I feel like I’m freer in prison than living with my mom,” she said in 2018.
“Because now, I’m allowed to just… live like a normal woman.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulKbS9Fn2mw&t=1s