Texas Mother Arrested For Forcing ‘Healthy’ Son To Undergo 13 Surgeries

A Texas woman, who subjected her healthy 8-year-old son to undergo more than a dozen surgeries, was arrested and charged with causing injury to a child.

A report in the Miami Herald said Kaylene Bowen, 34, from Dallas took her son Christopher to doctors 323 times for chec- ups and made him undergo 13 surgeries between 2009 and 2016.

According to court documents, Christopher has endured invasive procedures and surgeries, including being fitted with a feeding tube that fed directly into his small intestine. His mother even tried to get him on the lung transplant list.

However, after an investigation last month, a Child Protective Services (CPS) worker said, “The doctors do not find Christopher to be sick," NBC5 reported.

Christopher’s father Ryan Crawford, an IT administrator from North Richland Hills, said he tried to convince Dallas County family court judges several times that his son was not sick.

He said Bowen, whom he dated briefly and unexpectedly impregnated, appeared to be suffering from Munchausen syndrome – a mental disorder in which a person repeatedly and deliberately acts as if he or she has a physical or mental illness to attract attention.

Bowen claimed that Christopher had a severe allergy to milk. But Crawford denied the fact and said, “It didn’t make sense because I never saw him throw up any milk.”

Crawford said that after a few months, in a custody hearing in Dallas County family court, Bowen claimed that the doctors said that Christopher would never walk.

He said, “And then she stated that he had problems continuing to eat and that he’s going to need a feeding tube.”

Crawford added, “I was horrified because from what I knew, my son was fine. He just needed — not even extra care — he was fine.”

However, the judge did not trust Crawford but believed Bowen and thought that he was not aware of his son’s ill-health.

According to various reports, Bowen managed to raise thousands of dollars online through social media by claiming that her son was suffering from terminal cancer and needed a lung transplant, heart surgery, and leg braces.

However, last month when Bowen took Christopher to a doctor and claimed that he had had a seizure, various tests made it clear that he child was alright. This triggered an investigation by the CPS.

Crawford said, “I tried over and over and over to convince people that my son wasn't sick and that she was manipulating the system. It didn’t work. Nobody believed me.”

According to the investigation, as reported in NBC5, doctors now said that they “do not find Christopher to be sick.”

Bowen was arrested last week and Christopher has been temporarily put in foster care.

According to NBC5, a hearing is scheduled for next week.

CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said to NBC5, “Our primary concern is to make sure the children are in a safe place and healthy.”

According to the Miami Herald, Bowen is in Dallas County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond.