Something Was Wrong - S2 E2: Strange Ailments

Episode Date: August 16, 2019

Tee and Sylvia become closer as Sylvia and her son experience health challenges. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to something was wrong early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. I'm Candace DeLong and on my new podcast, Killer Psychy Daily, I share a quick 10 minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and behaviors of the cold-butter killers you read about in the news. Listen to the Amazon Music Exclusive Podcast, Killer Psychie Daily, and the Amazon Music App. Download the app today! This podcast is intended for mature audiences and could be triggering to some. Please use

discretion when listening. Factitious Disorder imposed on another FDIA, formerly known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, is a mental illness in which a person acts as if an individual he or she is caring for has a physical or mental illness when the person is not really sick. According to the Cleveland Clinic, in this mental illness, the adult perpetrator has the diagnosis and directly produces our lies about the illness in another, under his or her care. Usually a child under his or her care. Usually, a child under six years of age. It is considered a form of abuse by the American

professional society on the abuse of children. People with FDIA have an inner need for the other person, often his or her child, to be seen as ill or injured. It is not done to achieve a concrete benefit, such as financial gain. According to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 5, there is no evidence of external rewards and no other illness to explain the symptoms. Fortunately, it is rare. 2 out of 100,000 children. The Cleveland Clinic lists the symptoms of factitious disorder imposed on another as, often apparent, usually a mother, but can be an adult child of an elderly patient, spouse, or

caretaker of a disabled adult. Might be a healthcare professional, is very friendly and cooperative with healthcare providers. Appears overly concerned about the child or designated patient, and may also suffer from factitious disorder imposed on self. Other warning signs include, a child having a history of many hospitalizations, often with a strange set of symptoms. Worseening of a child's symptoms generally is reported by the mother and is not witnessed

by the hospital staff. The child's reported condition and symptoms do not agree with the results of diagnostic tests. There might be more than one unusual illness or death of children in the family. And the child's condition improves in the hospital, but symptoms re-occur when the child returns home. I'm Tiffany Reese, this is something was wrong. So what happens is she's super sick, spiraling down health wise. And at this point, right before she moves again, her son becomes very sick and She says he's been having seizures and so he's on phenobarbital and I never saw him have a seizure

But he didn't talk a lot. It was very odd beautiful baby Baby then I guess young child toddler I mean, I guess, a young child toddler. Very sweet, spirited, but he didn't talk a lot. And I remember thinking that was odd. Right before this next move, she says his kidneys are shutting down and he's, he's, he's, could need a kidney transplant. And he's super sick.

And so all of a sudden, the focus is now shifting to the child, like this is the child is sick. But I remember telling me, my husband actually doubted that my son was having seizures because he never saw him have a seizure. And I'm making him give the son a barbitol because they share custody, right? So the son is going to stay at his dad's house

for first husband who she's divorced from now, right? So he has him like probably whatever weekend or something like this. And hit'm gonna hit the medicine look with him of course. And then the husband starts questioning like why am I giving my son this medication? I've never seen him how many I remember that conversation and I can remember her outrage of my god like why why are you questioning me this is you know this is bullshit this is ridiculous and I remember being Why are you questioning me? This is, you know, this is bullshit. This is ridiculous. And I remember being mad. Oh, what a jerk, what an asshole. It's like a two-month time period and then, you know, this big scare and he might need a kidney transplant

and he's having to go to the doctors and then all of a sudden, he doesn't need a kidney transplant. His kidneys are working better. He's feeling better. She's sicker. We were all so concerned for this little boy. And then all of a sudden, he's not sick anymore. Some consistently had these strange ailments, odd ailments. Things didn't make sense. When we were training together, she told me that she was leaving the position because her son had

a brain tumor and she was going to have to take care of him. So at this point, we're going to jump a house now. This she says, I found this amazing house. It's like 45 minutes outside of our main city here. It's a beautiful area. It's kind of up the mountains a little bit. And she's like, I found the most beautiful house ever and she shows me pictures of it. Super, super, super cool. And I was like, yeah, but it's 45 minutes away.

Like, so I was like, you know, we're not able to help you as much. Like, I'm, that's my concern with this because like, she has 10 minutes away from my house before she needs something else there. I can remember one time she was too sick to pick up the kids from school and I was on the emergency Context so I can go pick up the kids and bring them home. So I was like, you know, I won't be able to do that anymore. Like, remember thinking to myself, how can you guys afford this? Like I don't know what's going on, but that Definitely occurred to me and of course my husband I helped her move and unpack, because you know, she'd be unpacking and be pale and

have to sit down. And when I remember her sitting in that living room, tell me this is going to be my place to heal. This place is so beautiful. I'm going to, I'm going to heal here. I'm going to, I'm going to get better here. I'm going to kick this cancer's ass, you know. Like I said, it was beautiful, but I couldn't go there very often. I remember going there one time and I remember being in bed, it was super dark and her not feeling good. And I remember the house not being kept up, smelling like dog urine. I did go a few times, but not like in the past. She did not live there that long and she moved back to Orangeville. They rented a house in Orangeville. In this house, this move in Orangeville, they decided to get married. So that was a whole huge thing, right?

huge thing, right? Person's dying, you know, I want to get married before I die. And in this time period, her, so her daughter's grandmother moved from the Bay Area to where we live in Northern California to help with the child and help Sylvia. And she was very helpful with the the granddaughter. She put her in art therapy counseling where they would go and do drawings and paintings and truck-batter feelings. And she had a counselor that she talked to about, you know, her mom being sick and that kind of thing. And so, when we decided to have the shower, the aunt that lived in town and the grandmother and I all threw a mix shower Bobo I mean we went we all chipped in money. We all went all out How do you how long do you think you had known her at this point two years?

Okay, yeah two years maybe you've been close friends for probably at least a year over a year. Yeah, for sure Okay There wasn't a whole lot of time in between the saying we're gonna get married and getting married and her biological father really wasn't in the picture. Like he lived in a different state. Right before the wedding as well, she said that she needed this implant that would like release chemo, but that our insurance wouldn't cover it. Can remember kind of being indignant,

like, oh my gosh, your insurance won't cover this, is what you need, it's what's gonna help you, blah, blah, blah. She said that she reached out to her dad and he paid for her to get the implant before her wedding. I think there was probably like 30, there's 40 people there. So that's all of the hospital people in our spouses. So that was probably half of the wedding.

I really should be. That's like any friends outside of us. Yeah. Then she was working for us but became very unreliable at this point. Like she'll call and sick a lot or you know we'd have her on the schedule and she just wouldn't show up. Like when she was there it was great because she's really good at her job but I can remember her totally shaking hands shaking and like having to you know shake it off and like trying to pull blood again and her husband now he worked a lot of nights and late nights where he was out on

patrol and then I can remember her telling me that she found out Jason He worked a lot of nights and late nights where he was out on patrol. And then I can remember her telling me that she found out Jason was not a police officer, that he was a community service officer. And she was very mad about that. And I was like, what does that mean? I don't know what that means. What is a community service officer? She was like, it's not really a police officer.

It's like a low-paying thing. And I was like, wow, that's weird. Things didn't make sense. This is Kurt. The story is that we were told of who he was at first. One time he was a police officer and then we found out he was a security guard. I mean, we had an impression of him wasn't so good. I didn't cross past with him too much because when he was home, I wasn't there. So we would see each other and passing.

He was always extremely pleasant to me. He was never rude. He was nothing that kind and he was fine. He was lovely to me. I can remember a couple of times are you taking sure this doctor's appointment or am I taking her to the doctor's appointment? Texting wasn't very big back then like that.

We're not on Facebook. No. You wouldn't have seen. Right. Right, Facebook. No. She wouldn't have seen it. Right. Right. No. And you never saw him in a uniform? No, I always saw him in a uniform.

Yeah. And you thought it was a police uniform? Yeah. To this day, I don't know if she was lying and he really was a police officer or if he was who knows. But she didn't look like he was a cop at police officers. Yeah. And when he found out that she said that, he later, after everything was out in the open,

I said, well, you're lying about being a put, he's like, no, I am a police officer. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery's podcast American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we look at the Kids for Cash Scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system of juvenile justice. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers, and often for committing only minor

offenses. The FBI began looking at two local judges, and when the full picture emerged, it made national headlines. The judges were earning a fortune, carrying out a brazen criminal scheme, one that would shatter the lives of countless children, and force a heated debate about punishment, an America's criminal justice system. Follow American scandal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or W app. So there's different levels of nursing. There's an RN registered nurse, there's an LVN, and then there's nurse practitioners. So an LVN is kind of the lower end.

A RN is the next step up and then a nurse practitioner. So she was an LVN although I believe that she told all of us that she was a registered nurse, which is an RN. I do not believe she was an LVN although I believe that she told all of us that she was a registered nurse which is an RN. I do not believe she was a registered nurse. I do not believe she finished the education process to that point but she was nursing. She got a job at Colson Prison. That pays extremely, extremely well. At this point, she's maybe working for us one day a week or she would just come in when she, I was kind of like that thing. Like we love you. You just come in and work whenever you want.

It's great when you're here, but we can't have you on the schedule again. She was pregnant. Again, she told me she lost the baby. I believe she was told me in the four years that she was pregnant at least four times. And I did personally drive her to get an abortion, and I did stay there through that.

One of the only times I actually went inside someplace with her, and I remember her being upset and crying and holding her hand. The nurse taking her away, and then me talking to the nurse after she got wheeled away saying, you know, this is extremely hard. Like, you know, she's a nurse, but she's babbling cancer. And I remember the nurse looking at me really strangely.

That was extremely difficult, you know, and that was not okay. That was not fun. That was not, was a very emotional, difficult experience. And then there was one instance where she had gotten pregnant and she was going to have an abortion. That's Jen. I took care of the kids. I took them to school and she went off to her surgical appointment that day.

And then she came back like normal. I had taken care of the kids and gotten them dinner. And she was laying on the couch resting, you know, like you would after such a procedure and she didn't have any pain medication. I was like, you know, let me all go pick up your medications from the pharmacy for you. Do you think you can get you more comfortable? And she was like, oh no, no, no, I don't need them. I'll go pick them up tomorrow. She did suspect that her husband was having

an inappropriate relationship. They started becoming volatile and arguing next time. And I get a telephone call. It's Jason. He says, I'm at work. So, be aia called me. I think she took a bunch of pills. I need you to go check on her. If you haven't purchased your ticket to something was wrong live Sacramento, you still have time. Get $4 off your ticket now with code SWW at something was wrong.com slash events. Something was wrong live Sacramento will take place Saturday, August 24th, 2019

at the Sophia at B Street Theatre in Midtown Sacramento. Sarah, Alyssa, myself, and a panel of experts will discuss all things something was wrong and answer your burning questions. After the show, hang out so we can hug, not hug, take pictures of the gram, have a cocktail, what abs. See you soon. Something was wrong is written, recorded, edited and produced by me, Tiffany Reitz. All of the music by Gladraggs. Hear their album, Wonder Under on iTunes. Follow the hashtag Something was Wrong Pod on Instagram. You can now purchase something was wrong merch at SWW.threadless.com. The books referenced on this show can be found linked in the show notes.

If you or someone you know is being abused, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE. That's 1-800-799-7233. Thank you. If you'd like to help support the show, please consider leaving a five-star review on iTunes and sharing the podcast with your family and friends. A neighbor, and garbage man, and gynecologist, and record producer, and ex-boyfriend. No, don't do that. Yeah, just like everyone you know that'd be cool

thank you Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Hey, Prime members, you can listen to something was wrong early and ad-free on Amazon music. Download the app today, or you can listen early and ad- free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey.