6-year-old Hannah's mother suffers from Münchausen syndrome by proxy. This mental disorder is extremely dangerous for children because the people who suffer from this made-up disease or, worse, cause third parties - often their children - to suffer from diseases or symptoms.
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Going to the ice cream shop
Terri, Hannah's mother, bought her young daughter ice cream twice a week, for the sole purpose of helping her sleep. After that, the girl wouldn't remember what they did.
She used this to claim that the girl had cancer and was about to die. At night, she would shave her head, so it would look like she was bald as a result of the 'chemotherapy' she made up to fool Hannah's entourage into believing the lie.
For attention and money
The mother, who suffers from a mental illness, did this because she wanted more attention from her family and her son. She raised $ 35,000 worth of donations for little Hannah.
But her fraud resulted in devastating consequences: Hannah was left traumatised and afraid of dying because childhood cancer is particularly difficult to cope with.
Fortunately, one of little Hannah's teachers uncovered the lie after looking closely at the girl. The woman lost custody of her daughter and Hannah now lives with a foster family, but she will very likely be dealing with the psychological consequences of the trauma for a very long time.
