2024-06-27
59 分钟While visiting their hometown, Jo reconnects with their older sister, Crystal, to have the deeply honest and heart-wrenching conversation their mother never wanted them to have: one where they share the hard truths about the abuse they both suffered at her hand. Crystal and Jo reach a new level of understanding of their shared experiences and their love for each other. We also speak to Munchausen by proxy expert Bea Yorker to talk about the process of discovery and recovery for survivors. *** Links/Resources: Preorder Andrea's new book The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show! Subscribe on YouTube where we have full episodes and lots of bonus content. Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop Buy Andrea's books here. To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content. For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Before we begin, a quick warning that in this show, we discuss child abuse, and this content may be difficult for some listeners.
If you or anyone you know is a victim or survivor of medical child abuse, please go to munchausensupport.com to connect with professionals who can help.
So, as many of you may know, if you've listened to the previous seasons of this show, I come to all of this with a really deep personal connection, which is that I strongly believe that my niece and nephew are victims of Munchausen by proxy abuse.
My sister has been investigated twice for medical child abuse, and though she has not been charged with a crime, one of the investigations involved a two year long police investigation that I was able to obtain a lot of information from.
And so I know that the evidence against her was incredibly strong, in particular, that they had video footage of her tampering with medications.
So after my sister was investigated for the second time for medical child abuse, this time of her youngest child, my niece, I was really hopeful during that investigation that something was going to come of it, because I knew the police were involved.
They had a lot to go on, and they seemed really serious about it.
And when I got the news in the summer of 2019, bizarrely, right before my book came out that she'd gotten her kids back, it was just so crushing, because even though it feels naive to say this now, I really thought, okay, they've got her.
Like, this is the second time.
No one could possibly look at this situation and just think, there's nothing wrong here.
I know these kids are not safe, and no one is doing anything to intervene.
No one is gonna help them.
No one is.
You know, kind of like no one cares, right?
I mean, that's.
That's how it felt.
And so I remember, you know, I told my parents, I said, if there's information that comes in about Megan, don't tell me.
Unless something changes.
Unless something about this situation changes, I don't want to know, because whenever I find out something new has happened, it just sends me back into a spiral, and there's nothing that anyone can do about it.
So when the authorities have failed and those systems that are supposed to protect them have failed, and the family members around them that are allowed to be in their lives are failing them, in my opinion, then, like, what is even my role?