The mother of all cons...

[Bemorebeth]

Apologies if there is another thread on this. Couldn't see one.

Thoughts?

I thought it was interesting on the Podcast that on her final admission to hospital they wanted to do a test to check the pressure in her brain by checking the fluid in her spine. One day she would agree to it and the next she wouldn’t and then sadly died.

I couldn’t help but feel she didn’t want to go through what seemed to be a possibly painful and intrusive process when she knew it wouldn’t show anything. It’s difficult to know what she did know because she was so much under the influence of her mother. By the time she died she’d supposedly had a brain tumour for nearly ten years so must have become aware she wasn’t having any treatment for one?

Did she go to medical appointments on her own or did Jean always speak for her? I was unclear about that. If she was going in saying she had a brain tumour surely doctors would be checking as she would have been under an oncologist? But again there seems to be an element of going to different doctors, hospitals and medical establishments especially when it appeared they were taking too much interest in her medical background.

From experience with my mother, who doesn’t have Munchausen’s, but is a hypochondriac if you go to lots of different medical establishments they just take you at face value and treat you for what you present with without any professional curiosity. It’s only when we’ve got involved because she will be prescribed with the same medication three times in a week from different sources that anyone bothers to look properly at her history.

I agree that Meg doesn't seem (to me) to be just an innocent victim in this huge con. I know that Beth seemed to think that Meg was scared of her mum but she seemed to be enjoying all the Disney trips and other stuff.

That video to Nick and Johanna looked like a proper attempt to intimidate them, so whilst clearly Jean was the main villain, I don't think Meg was entirely innocent.
I must listen to the podcast.

totally agree she must have known! The whole thing was bizarre! Loved Nick he was a warrior like a dog with a bone you’d certainly want him on your side !

It was idiopathic intracranial hypertension not benign. And it's definitely life threatening if not managed properly (hence the the shunt!)

That’s the new name for the same thing and the shunt is for pain relief.

Going blind is a risk but actually dying not so much.

I’m just listening to the last episode (8) of the podcast. It says that at one point Meg had told friends she was in hospital for surgery on a tumour, when actually she was having her brain pressure tested, and they wouldn’t have queried it with the shunt.

I find it hard to get my head around. She must have known. I have a 10 year old who has had multiple surgeries over the last few years, and before every surgery, and at every consultation, the consultants have explained everything both to us and to him, making sure he understands what the issues are and what they will be doing, asking if he has any questions and responding in a clear child friendly way. They have even asked him just before surgery to tell them what part of the body they will be operating on, and why, to make sure he understands!

Episode 7 says that the coroner’s report said there was no evidence that she had any physical illnesses, and they say that she may not have even had the intracranial hypertension (I think I heard somewhere else it might have resolved).

Appeals court reversed judgment in Maya’s case, a new trial will be in 2027.

Theres a brilliant podcast “Nobody Should Believe Me” - seasons 3 & 7 are on Kowalski’s case.

Just watched this. Where the bloody hell is that witch Jean! I want her dragged back to the UK to face justice. Surely they can get her on the forged prescriptions?

Nick and Joanna are incredible people

Edited to add: and Nina

The flight shocked me the most. That poor pilot was quite traumatised by the whole crazy experience.

of course the whole medical abuse situation was sickening - I don’t feel like it was fully explained where all the drugs came from and what these medical procedures were she was in hospital for.

clearly the fatty liver was from 4 months eating Disney diet on top of years and years of extremely high drug toxicity & addiction.

but everything about the flight was properly terrifying & bonkers.

that poor girl/woman didn’t stand a chance with a mother like that.

Completely agree! Endangering everyone on board to keep up the mad charade. It’s chilling lack of care for other people’s safety

She’s currently on Space Mountain in Disney !

Forging prescriptions isn’t very serious though.

I've been thinking about this and unless they can get her on murder or manslaughter, what could she be charged with?!

The sister in the programme seemed afraid of Jean to this day. She must have exerted huge power over them.
The person who talked about her parent deliberately with holding morphine from her rang true in Meg's case.

Placemarking as just started watching. Will read the thread later. There is also a podcast which I’ll listen to. Not sure if they overlap - if anyone to listen - first 2 minute episode think about 8 episodes in total.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fk1xhj?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Binge watched this yesterday. Good god!

I thought this. I felt the program makers were suggesting it too. I really thought they were going to say that she overdosed Meg so that she couldnt give evidence against her as it was all coming out and getting too hot for her and it was clear that she was about to be exposed.

Actually, that is what I tbink happenned. Very easy to casue soneone whonis massibeky addicted to oramorph to over do it and die in their sleep. You would think the morphine missue would have shown up in the toxicology report, but as someone whose decesed loved one was treated like garbage by the coroners office (lost valuable samples, listed wrong COD) nothing surprised me. Why isnt the inquest being reopened?

Nick, just incredible. To see someone profit off the death of his son and other children, the rage was palpable. And his description of grief was so spot on. Did his son Adam proud.

In the podcast it says one of the sisters had a kidney transplant as a child and her mum made her drink salty vital which made her condition worse. This has shorted her life and her baby was born premature because of this. I am not sure if it is the same sister who was on the tv but you would be terrified if that was you.

I agree with a pp that data sharing of medical settings can’t come soon enough. I was in hospital for some weeks. When I was discharged I went to the GP (ironically for some more Oramorph…) and they had not been informed or contacted.

Also similarly to another pp, mil was a total hypochondriac. She lived at the GP and also had this not very amusing notion that the doctor liked her and she giggled about examinations. She had medications for about 20 different conditions. When she was given a full medical (for hip replacement) it turned out she had a completely clean bill of health. So it seems overly busy and impatient GOs just swallow any old line from a patient and get out their prescription pad.

🤣🤣🤣

I thought it might be a homicide too. Because Jean had really painted herself into a corner. Either Meg dies (from her supposedly terminal cancer) or they somehow stage a miracle recovery that would prompt a lot of questions on how it happened

I thought this. Can't understand why this charity was so respected by no 10 etc, it's such a dubious premise. What is the point of spending charity funds on Ralph Lauren suits for small boys to wear for one night only? No little boy dreams of wearing a Ralph Lauren suit! The doos were all so extravagant and extreme but for a tiny number of children - there was so much money that could have been used to do lovely things for ALL the sick children and families.

Plus while obviously Meg was hugely damaged by her mum, she wasn't innocent by any means. Even if she believed she was sick and was physically impacted by the forced drug addiction, she still knew she was spending months in Disney, not a hospital, she knew the fundraising for her to have American treatment was a lie. She wasn't wearing any oxygen tubes or anything as she got off the Queen Mary. She knew she didn't go to hospital in Boston etc! She didn't REALLY care about the sick kids because she set up a charity where she got more out of all the events than most of the kids. Maybe she felt guilty, maybe she was forced into it, but she definitely wasn't just an innocent victim.

I don’t imagine it was particularly respected by no10 tbh. It was just a charity amongst thousands of others

Agree. I think Meghan may have been 23 at her death but was under Jean's control, including the horrible quantity of morphine she swallowed for so long that I'm honestly not sure of her real culpability/complicity in this, especially as it was continuous from childhood. The fact she did make an escape attempt (when she went to Beth) is so sad.

I think Nina has long had the measure of her mother and feels terrible about the whole thing, but it was certainly not her fault.

Jean has much to answer for.

ETA I think what I'm trying to say is that with a different mother and upbringing, the life she had and outcome for Meghan would quite possibly have been very different.