Woman Facing Prison Time for Making Healthy Son Endure 323 Doctor Visits, 13 Surgeries

A Texas woman pleaded guilty last week to recklessly causing injury to a child in connection with her having subjected her now-10-year-old son to hundreds of doctor visits and unnecessary surgical procedures.

Kaylene Bowen, per theFort Worth Star-Telegram, will now be the subject of a sentencing hearing Oct. 11 in which she faces the possibility of being handed down between two and 20 years in prison. As previously reported, the extent of the "medical abuse" is baffling, with records showing that Bowen and Ryan Crawford's son Christopher (at Bowen's urging) had been seen at 323 hospitals and pediatric centers and had undergone 13 "major" surgeries.

Christopher has now been determined to have zero medical issues. He was removed from Bowen's care in 2017 following allegations of having fabricated her son's health issues. Bowen, per the Star-Telegram, had also used those claims to hold fundraisers. At one point, she claimed her son had a rare genetic disorder. Later, she claimed cancer.

Crawford, who had attempted for years to get local Dallas County authorities to believe his assessment that the illnesses were faked, said in a statement earlier this month that the guilty plea from Bowen is a leap forward for not only his son, but other victims of medical abuse.

"I am happy that she decided to do the right thing," Crawford said. "Eventually the lies had to stop."