My first thought, when I read about Lisa Hayden-Johnson was that she must be suffering from Munchausen’s by Proxy. No one could possibly be that cruel to their own child that they would deliberately exploit them in exchange for benefits, awards, free holidays and the chance to meet celebrities, surely.
But actually, Hayden-Johnson isn’t suffering from a mental disorder. Like the hideous Karen Matthews, she is greedy and heartless and out for herself. She saw an opportunity and decided to exploit it. It was all about the freebies, and sadly, this probably tells us more about our society than we could ever wish to know. When medical professionals tried to intervene, she told them that she would ‘sue’ and claimed to be a nurse. This was someone who knew how to play the system.
‘Mothers’ who see their kids as commodities are guilty of child abuse – even if there are no physical scars, the emotional trauma may never go away. My heart goes out to that little boy and I just hope that he is able to recover from the betrayal he suffered at the hands of the woman who was supposed to love and protect him.
written by Liz Jarvis