Life of Gypsy Rose Blanchard whose mum convinced her she was dying
| Published date | 29 September 2023 |
| Publication title | Daily Record, The / Sunday Mail: Web Edition Articles (Scotland) |
Dee Dee Blanchard had forced Gypsy to use a wheelchair and fabricated constant medical problems. But one day, Gypsy decided to exact revenge -after discovering she wasn't ill.
Now Missouri's Department of Corrections has confirmed that she will be released on December 28 -after serving just seven years.
Young Gypsy had a whole host of health problems. She was always in a wheelchair, rarely left the house without oxygen and a feeding tube, and her learning difficulties left her years behind her peers.
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Mum Dee Dee ferried her to hospital appointments and cared for all her needs. In fact, Dee Dee would always hold her daughter’s hand whenever they went out, like they were two inseparable best friends.
Clauddine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard was a single mum and had always made her daughter her number one priority.
At three months, she took Gypsy to the hospital after she’d noticed she was having breathing problems.
Gypsy was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and sent home with breathing apparatus. Still, Dee Dee wasn’t happy.
She told her family she was convinced there was something else wrong and was determined to get answers.
When Gypsy was seven, Dee Dee told friends and family that she had a chromosomal disorder. It didn’t have a name, but it meant Gypsy would need a wheelchair and she wouldn’t develop like other children.
Dee Dee’s family wanted to help, but she made the unusual decision to move away to Louisiana and distance herself.
There, Gypsy’s health problems continued.
When her weight dropped too low, she was given a feeding tube, and severe asthma meant she needed oxygen.
When Dee Dee told doctors Gypsy was having epileptic seizures, she was given drugs to control them – sadly, it caused her teeth to crumble and fall out.
Dee Dee then explained to people that muscular dystrophy was keeping Gypsy in a wheelchair and her learning difficulties required her to be home-schooled.
Even when she became a teenager, Dee Dee told people Gypsy had the mental capacity of a seven-year-old. Just when everyone thought they’d been through enough, Dee Dee shared the sad news that Gypsy had leukaemia.
With no teeth, huge prescription glasses, the tell-tale bald head from chemotherapy and a child-like voice, it was hard not to feel sorry for little Gypsy.
When Dee Dee...
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