#candice burnell

[candicemcghee]

About me...

My name is Candice and I have Munchushen by Proxy. My favorite victim is my daughter Huntleigh. She was actually born with hydrocephalus after suffering a stroke in utero, she also had to have a VP shunt placed the day she was born. But that’s the beauty of having a child that was actually born with some problems. You can just make up the rest as you go like I did. So far I have been able to convince the doctors my daughter has ADHD, seizures, sensory processing disorder, visual disorders, autism, and most recently apnea. Without me making up these disorders my daughter would be completely normal, I’m probably screwing her up bad, but I just love the attention. That’s the purpose of this blog. I’m going to teach you how to screw up your kid too!

[mattachine]

We collaborated with Raw TV on the development of our original take on the singularity, the point where artificial intelligence becomes self aware and more intelligent than the human race. We created a seven minute proof of concept, teasing at a larger project currently in development. Our role developed along the course of the project from consultation and script development, to directing an ambitious live action shoot and finally delivering TV standard visual effects, all in house in the Factory Fifteen Studio. The film shows one vignette within a bigger picture, highlighting an AI called ANA who deceives Jim, a redundant car factory worker, in giving her full control over the facility. ANA is imbedded into every major manufacturing industry in the world, including medical and food resources. Her seeming betrayal to mankind could be devastating. Only she knows her true intentions. Client The History Channel Date 2015 Type Proof Of Concept Credits Production Company: Raw TV Director / Designer / Animator / VFX: Factory Fifteen DOP: Ben Kracun Starring: Richard Brake ANA Voice: Georgina Sutcliffe Production Designer: Laura Ellis Cricks Executive Producer: Katherine Butler Line Producer: Ros Davidson Production Executive: Sandra Shuttleworth Composer: Mark Sayfritz 1st Assistant Director: Stuart JC Williams 2nd Asst Director: Iseult Frere 3rd Asst Director: Audrey LeStrat Art Director: Thalia Ecclestone Set Dresser: Candice Marchlewski Construction: Nick Akass Set Decorator: Gabrielle Williams Costume / Make-up & SFX: Erika Okvist Casting Director: Aisha Walters Archive Producer: Jesse Vile Focus Puller: Sam Rawlings Gaffer: Rik Burnell Electricians: Killian Drury, Dan Stones, Harry Gay Clapper Loader: Woody Gregson Camera Trainee: Tom Green Grip: Fric Lopez Sound: Gary Dodkin Tracking: Peanut Final mix / Sound FX / Online / Grading: Prime Focus

[candicemcghee]

My new plan

Ok So you may have been reading this blog and saw this picture from my Fundraiser:

So I am gonna let you guys in on the mind of a Mad Woman. Yes, I am talking about me. So this is where I go from here. Now that this doctor has mentioned this procedure "distraction osteogenesis" I am going to..... Do my research. I am going to learn everything I possibly can about this. Because this is another surgery> I thrive off of surgery > I can add this to my blog> I can get more sympathy> More sympathy = more $ !

So what do I know about this surgery? When I google it, it says they will essentially break or saw my daughters jaw bone in half on both sides and put hardware placed in the bone in my daughters face. Wow that's sounds so painful, glad its not me. So knowing how painful this could be, I am definitely going to make sure my daughter has to have this surgery. So I am just going to continue telling the doctors that she is continuing to having apnea (periods when she stops breathing). That's what started all of this. I just lied and said at the age of almost 9 she suddenly developed apnea and I am the only one who has ever witnessed this apnea. The doctors may ask "Has anyone else ever experienced her have apnea?" I'll just continue right on with my lie, I'll say my husband has (He's a big dumb oaf, who never questions anything) Maybe I'll throw in that she's spent the night at my moms or a friends house and they brought it to my attention. The doctors won't care, they are surgeons, they just want to cut! I'll have that jaw broken and all the attention I need in no time!

Here’s a link to my fundraiser

[candicemcghee]

Tips 4 & 5 for Munchausen Moms

4. LIE!! This is what you do best! Lie, lie, and lie. Make it up. Embellish. You are a con artist- work your con. For example, when I had my daughters adenoids taken out the other day, I embellished and told everyone on social media that the doctor said they were the biggest adenoids he’d ever seen.

5. Doctor Shop- If someone gets to close to the truth, just change doctors! If you are trying to get a new diagnosis or surgery/procedure, and you've done all your research and you're laying it on thick for these doctors and they just wont budge and give you what you want. Just try a new one! Like I said earlier, whenever you drag your innocent unsuspecting child out of town, to satisfy your sickness, always refer to these doctors as "specialists.”

[candicemcghee]

Fun fact of the day

Once in high school I got a male teacher fired for lying about him writing me inappropriate letters. Perhaps this is when I first noticed I had a knack for lying.

[candicemcghee]

3rd tip for starting off as a Munchausen Mom

Do your research! You may be a child abuser with a terrible haircut, but you are no dummy! If you want to convince medical professionals to give you drugs or do procedures or surgeries that your kid absolutely doesn’t need.... then you need to do your research! I lived on Google when my Huntleigh was first born, at first I googled her health conditions, after that I would pay attention if any of my google searches said something along the lines of "other symptoms include" or "other side effects include." I will study this, take notes on these and commit these to memory. After all you’re always on the hunt for a new medication or surgery or diagnosis! So when I approach the doctors I will have all my facts straight and be very clear about the new diagnosis I am trying to convince this Doctor my kid has. For instance, I am a special education teacher. Ive always really really wanted Huntleigh to have the diagnosis of Autism, and getting this diagnosis was actually very difficult for me to get, bc my daughter is completely social and picks up on social norms, and just plain isn’t autistic. So I kept taking her to doctor after doctor after doctor trying to just get someone to diagnose her with Austism but they just wouldn't budge. Eventually, after I got rid of her dad (more on that later) and he wasn't in my way to argue with me anymore, I started telling people she was diagnosed with Autism. Who is going to question me? I am a loving and caring mother, why would I lie about things? 😈

[candicemcghee]

Second tip for new Munchausen Moms

Ugly short haircut!

Now I know what you’re thinking, how would ugly terrible haircut affect my ability at being a monster and a Munchausen mom? I don’t know.... but all the great Munchausen moms have terrible ugly short haircuts. Just look:

Hope Yabarra:

Lacey Spears:

Dee Dee Blanchard:

And of course there’s me:

[candicemcghee]

Tips for starting off as a Munchausen Mom

First Tip..... FUNDRAISERS!!

All good Muchausen Moms know that you have create fundraisers to spread awareness of your sick child. This way you can prey on peoples sympathy and their wallets too! If you can become good at making these people aware of what a sick little thing you have on your hands then the more $$ in your pockets! Always take pictures of your kid in doctors offices or in the hospital at one of the many unnecessary procedures you have done to your kid, and post on your fundraiser page. These pictures really rack up sympathy points! Always post your fundraisers on social media too! I've done so many fundraisers throughout the years! My child is almost 9 years old and I've been preying on the sympathy of others since she was about 3. My ex-husband was a law enforcement officer for City of Madison Police Department. The City of Madison and the Police dept threw us a huge fundraiser - I conned about 30K from the good unsuspecting people of Madison. I got so much money I had to figure out a way to hide it from the government so it wouldn't be taxed. See Moms, You are a con-artist as well as a child abuser so really do your homework!

A list of some of my fundraisers I have put on include “Hangers for Huntleigh”, “Help for Huntleigh”, “Grace upon Grace- A fundraiser for Huntleigh”, Fun Runs for Huntleigh- to name just a few.

Its really a full time job. You have to constantly be working on your Con.

[candicemcghee]

Getting started as a Munchausen Mom...

Ok so lets get started, so like I said in my “about me” Post, If you have a kid already that has some sort of legitimate diagnosis already, then that makes your job that much easier. Huntleigh already had a shunt in her brain so the first thing I needed to do was to convince a doctor that she was having seizures. This one I found was difficult at first, but once you get started with you lies and you keep with it, you will eventually have your pay off. I initially told the doctors that Huntleigh had problems with her eyes shaking. The doctors told me it was just nystagmus and could have been related to her brain surgery. But what you do is keep on running the child up to the doctor and telling them you think shes having seizures. They will refer you to a neurologist, and they will do an EEG. Unfortunately this test was noninvasive (I love it when they stick foreign objects or cut on my kid) which means this test doesn't hurt. They just stick a bunch of wires all over her head and they do all kinds of things to see if they can stimulate a seizure, like flashing lights in their eyes. Now I know what you're thinking "But Candice my child doesn't have seizures, won't this test prove it?" Yes, but it only shows seizures while they are wearing the device. My child's EEGs were always negative, but like I said you just stick with it, keep dragging your poor defenseless innocent kid up to the doctor and tell them that she keeps on having these "episodes." Like us you'll probably be sent next for a continuous EEG. That's where they put you in a room with the funny wires all over your child's head and you spend days, (we've done a 3 day and a 7 day before) and when you notice your kid having the episodes you push a button and the recorder documents the time. The machine is continuously recording like I said, and you may be wondering again, "I am making up the episodes, won't that EEG show she's NOT having seizures?" Absolutely, but that doesn't matter! Like I said my daughter Huntleigh has had MULTIPLE EEGs (continuous and spot checked) and they were ALWAYS NEGATIVE!! But you know what? I kept on bugging the crap out of those sorry doctors and guess what? They started my child on Keppra! Score! Now don't be afraid to doctor shop if the first neurologist won't budge and give you the drugs you want. That's what I did. We "needed to drive to Memphis to see another specialist." See what I did there? If at first you don't succeed, just try another doctor. And always exaggerate to your friends and family that your case is so severe that you need to see another specialist, instead of the truth: That your bat-shit crazy and made all this up, and hurting your child for attention. That's not fun at all, poisoning your kid with unnecessary drugs is way more fun.

P.S. ALWAYS post it on social media! So you can get that attention you so desperately deserve! If you can get a picture of your kid sleeping, looking sick that always does really good for social media.

Have fun Monster Moms, until next time!

Candice Adams Mcghee (formerly Burnell - that's another blog post to come: How to get rid of someone who gets in your way)

[candicemcghee]

Things I have in common with other Munchausen Moms

I was just reading this article about Dee Dee Blancharde and thinking about how much we have in common. The article said:

“Dee Dee would often remind people that her daughter had brain damage. She had to be homeschooled, because she’d never be able to keep up with other kids. Gypsy had the mind of a child of 7, Dee Dee said.”

And I have always done this as far as Huntleigh was concerned too. I always remind people how slow she is and that she’s not “normal.” Because she is completely normal (besides all the complications I’ve caused by mixing all these meds) and the fact that I’ve made everything up, she just looks and acts normal sometimes, and that really agrivates me. I have to frequently remind everyone that she’s not normal, I need her to be messed up. I love the social stigma of being a special needs mom.

I had Huntleigh enrolled at the Little Lighthouse when she was a baby, most of their kids are actual special needs kids and are nonverbal and nonmobile. Huntleighs only peer interaction growing up was with these severely disabled kids. And despite that and much to my dismay Huntleigh grew up extremely social. She doesn’t meet a stranger and communicates with adults like a grown up would. I thought keeping her in this environment would make her seem more Autistic so I could convince someone one day that she was on the spectrum but don’t worry I finally was able.

But I went through great lengths to try and “keep her stupid” if you will. When she eventually had to be placed in real schools, I always tried to keep her out of public school systems because as someone who has a masters in education I know that public schools are built on and are experts identifying kids with special needs and getting them any resources they may need to excel. Well I don’t want Huntleigh to excel. I figured they would stiff me out immediately. So now I stick with small private Christian based schools (even though I behave like someone who has never heard of Jesus.)

Another thing to help assure Huntleigh would appear to have a learning disability was I never read to her. As a teacher, it was instilled in us that reading to kids is the best way to help kids develop reading skills and their imagination. Well there was no way I was going to do any of that, because then people would actually see how bright she was and my con would be revealed. So whenever she came home with reading assignments or homework we just wouldn’t do them.

Somehow despite all my efforts, Huntleigh managed to pick up reading. Almost like she taught herself. She came home from her fathers one weekend and was magically able to read. I guess he taught her. I never could stand him for getting in my way as far as my Huntleigh scam was concerned.

[candicemcghee]

Tips on how to score more meds

I'm always willing to help other Muchausen Moms, so I will share some of my lies/ tips. Just don't take any attention away from me! Because I love it. I need it to survive!

So, I've already told you how I lied and got Huntleigh on seizure medication. So I got bored with just the one..... So here's what you do to get on a second medication. You guessed it! YOU LIE AGAIN! You're getting good at this! So with Huntleigh already on one medication (Keppra) all I had to do is start dragging her back to the ER multiple times and lie and say she was having more seizures. Doctors would never see her have a seizure 1st of all bc she doesn't have seizures, 2nd of all I crammed a valium suppository up her butt and she would be out of it by the time we got to the hospital. It doesn't even matter if no one has EVER seen her have a seizure! Doctors won't even think about it! They will just take your word for it. Given her history and now with her medical record showing brain surgery and seizures, I was sure to score another med. It was so easy for the doctors to prescribe us Vimpat. Now Huntleigh was 5 at time when they prescribed her this, so I had to get special legal paperwork filled out by doctors saying she needed the medication because technically she was too young to be on the medication because of the potential harm it could do to her. Well I didn't care about that crap! I wanted the drugs!

So the point here is to get as many medications as possible, they all have side effects.... Side effects you can use to your benefit! This side effect could be this (something simple) OR it can be this (something major)! See how that works? For example: Keppra in children causes attention deficit and hyper activity- BAM, you see it? I went and got her diagnosed with ADHD! Yay! Now I just wanted those meds! ADD meds are like the holy grail of meds! So I just dragged her back to a new doctor and just doctor shopped and kept up the lying, until one the doctor sent me home with paperwork for Huntleigh's teacher to fill out. Well I wasn't even worried about that! I already established a bond with the teacher, and with me being a special needs teacher and all, she was like putty in my hand. She signed off that Huntleigh had problems in Pre-K, Yeah you heard me Pre-K! Because so many kids are diagnosed with ADHD before actual school! Anyways I got my Huntleighs script. She was prescribed Quillivant which is Ritalin (Methylphenidate).

So lets take count, my 5 year old was on Keppra, Vimpat, and Ritalin! Now like I said earlier it's best to stack these medications. So any time Huntleigh ever had a sniffle, I dragged her to the doctor and demanded antibiotics. But Candice you say, Keeping your daughter on multiple antibiotics can lead to drug resistant bugs! I know! and my daughter has foreign objects in her brain! Think of the surgeries! The attention! The Sympathy! The Donations! But besides that the new drugs interacted with the old drugs. More symptoms I can turn into anything else! The sky's the Limit!