Ever hear of "Munchausen by Proxy"?

I never heard of Munchausen by Proxy until I found this memior - SICKENED by Julie Gregory.

Munchausen by Proxy is when a caretaker (often a mother) will keep his/her child sick or try to prove to others that the child is sick to gain attention for themselves. I couldn't believe that something like this actually existed. How could someone do this to their child? Unfortunately many cases simply go unnoticed because of how easy it is to hide.

Julie Gregory was abused as a child. She was abused in one of the most undiscussed ways a child can be violated. Julie was the victim of her mother's mental illness. Her mother suffered from Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome.

Julie's mother, Sandy, would feed 3-year-old Julie books of matches and tell her they were lollipops. She would give Julie pills that caused blinding migraines, all the while, taking Julie from doctor to doctor insisting Julie was seriously ill. At the height of her illness, her mother (Sandy) was trying to have open-heart surgery performed on 12-year-old Julie. And when Julie tried to tell a nurse and her school friends what was happening, no one believed her. (the stories of abuse go on and on, but I don't want to give everything away in this post... )

Julie and her brother also endured physical abuse. They were beaten and Julie was constantly starved to make her appear ill. "Sickened" is Julie's heartbreaking, but uplifting story.