Elsa and Champ

Elsa is sitting in the waiting room of the veterinary clinic “2VETS”, having her head in her hands and her body moving back and forth. Four more people waited their turn for their pet’s appointment. She finds herself in the center of a comforting “hug” and tearfully recounts all the wonderful times she had experienced in the company of Champ — the wolf-dog that has been her companion for the past 5 years — while receiving the expressions of compassion from the bystanders who touch her on the shoulder, hold her hand and watch her in tears, expressing words of comfort. Ten minutes earlier, one of the clinic’s two veterinarians had announced that he had not been able to save Champ from the effects of ingesting rat poison he had taken from a storage locker in the garden that had been accidentally left open…

Half an hour later, the group had thinned out and everyone had resumed their flow after bidding her a fond farewell with a warm understanding of her drama. Holding the vet’s hands, she again declared her gratitude for all the times he had been “present” doing his duty for her Champ. Left alone now and waiting to receive the body of her four-legged friend, Elsa announces her experience in two public Facebook groups of animal lovers, where so many times she has found solace in Champ’s difficult health situations.

On the same day, Niki had been hired by “2vets” Veterinary Clinic as a veterinary assistant and had been following the whole incident from the beginning. Throughout this, she had the intense feeling that she had experienced it all over again — without the death outcome — with the same protagonists — Elsa and Champ. Sitting in the vet’s secretarial office, she finally managed to remember, connecting pieces of the “puzzle” to another, final one, that manifested before her eyes at that moment.

Elsa was filming herself talking about her drama and it was clear from her words that she was preparing to upload this video to a group she called “Elsa’s and Champ’s family support group.” Niki was sure now. About 3 years earlier, when she had interned at another veterinary clinic in the south suburbs of the city, she had noticed — and it had struck her — that every time a “health adventure” of Champ ended, Elsa would make a video like this outside the clinic — with poor Champ waiting for her in the car — and then talk through video calls with many people, to whom she recounted what her poor pet and herself had experienced. During her 6-month practice, Niki had seen Champ at least ten times for incidents of severe stomach upset, vomiting and diarrhea that sometimes lasted up to 10 days, despite the administration of anti-emetics by the vets. Champ seemed to have an improvement while in the clinic but would return with the same symptoms 24 hours later.

Initially, the vets were focusing at the more common, simple, and mild possibilities (colds, viruses etc.) but as the symptoms continued, they were directed towards more serious checks when necessary. On one occasion, it was found that Champ had consumed a large amount of chocolate. Elsa claimed — after hearing about these findings, not before— that her dog had grabbed a chocolate bar and had already eaten it while she was chasing him. Although the amount of chocolate consumed appeared to be quite bigger than she described, the vets helped Champ and advised her to be careful about where she left food forbidden for dogs.

Niki now remembered that each time such a 6–7 day cycle was completed, she realized that it was about the same as the previous ones. There was a pattern. That is, usually, Elsa would arrive at the clinic in panic, expressing her great concern for her beloved four-legged companion and explaining in agony his convulsions, or his recurrent vomiting, and sometimes the way in which the dog had acquired a wound from something sharp it had stepped on in the garden or during their walk. Most of the time though, it was stomach upsets and vomiting, which had many possible versions as to their source. Her descriptions were usually in great detail and often contained information or vocabulary and terms that were more sophisticated and “more medical” than the average person would be expected to know. When it comes to the chocolate incident, Niki had held back the words Elsa had said: “I got so anxious when I saw him because I know what theobromine can do to him!”.

Elsa always informed all those in the waiting area of that clinic, repeating the narration in consecutive phone calls. When one of them would talk to her about their own animal’s problem, she would make a heavy-handed gesture of compassion — such as a sudden hug — but immediately afterward, she would return to her own topic so that she herself would remain in the center of everyone’s attention.

Elsa was always very warm with the vets and with Champ himself, whom she often called “my son”. The last time Niki had seen Elsa was one evening when she had arrived at that clinic, with Champ in her arms, talking about the recurrence of vomiting. Despite having the immediate attention of a veterinary assistant who immediately took over Champ, Elsa eventually seemed displeased that all the other medical staff was in the operating room for an emergency — which was considered more serious than her own — and since then, she hadn’t been seen again.

Escorting Elsa with dead Champ’s body in her arms towards the exit, Niki expresses her condolences and asks if Elsa remembers her — because she has completely changed her hair color and added weight in the last three years — . Elsa’s eyes sparkle for a moment and Niki realizes both that she remembered her and, also, that she would never meet her again at the same clinic…

Niki’s further investigation led to more revelations. Champ had visited five of the south suburban veterinary clinics in five years, having cycles of an average of seven months “attendance” there and a sudden stop in visits afterward.

Champ’s frequent stomach upsets and the consequences of these had led it being hospitalized for several days and consuming many medications that — in a way — he did not need. Prior to Champ, Elsa had “climbed” the same “Golgotha” with another wolf-dog, and before that with a Cocker Spaniel.

Elsa is a 45-year-old woman, married to a wealthy businessman since she was 18. She lives in a large house with a garden, 2 pools and 8 rooms, in which she is almost always alone. Her husband’s number one priority is his business; he travels frequently around the world, being away for long periods of time. He met her at an orphanage to which he had once gone to make a donation and married her. He seemed sympathetic and strong enough to make her feel secure at that point. Before the wedding, he had her sign a prenuptial agreement. Among other terms, they would never have children, she would not work, and she would not claim any part of his possessions in the event of divorce or death. However, he had promised her that she would live like … a queen and declared himself fanatically opposed to divorce.

Elsa had ended up in an orphanage at the age of four, when her parents were killed in a plane crash and the rest of the relatives refused to take her in, because “she seemed to be a trouble”. Since the first year of her life, she had visited the emergency department of various hospitals many times with her mom. She went through several periods of frequent vomiting and had many signs of gastrointestinal problems, a phenomenon that magically stopped the day she started living at the orphanage…

During the two-year Criminology course I had attended, we had examined various syndromes. We were often asked to present them so that we could prove we had understood their content and their symptoms. I usually did that through stories, which were created in my mind, but you can’t exactly call them fictional, because things like that happen in real life all the time…

In this story, I’m referring to the Munchausen Syndrome by proxy.

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) is a mental health problem in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury in a person under his or her care, such as a child, an elderly adult, or a person who has a disability.

I chose a dog.

Also, note that there’s also the Munchausen Syndrome (not by proxy), in which the person does all these to themselves. Sometimes the two syndromes co-exist. A person with Munchausen Syndrome is not to be confused with those having a factitious disorder, in which the person may not understand the reasons for their behaviors or recognize themselves as having a problem. Some symptoms are the same, but other main characteristics are different.

A person with MSBP often:

• Has medical skills or experience (or has read a lot about medical stuff).
• Seems devoted to his or her child.
• Looks for sympathy and attention.
• Tries too hard to become close and friendly with medical staff.
• Needs to feel powerful and in control.
• Does not see his or her behavior as harmful.

For more information about Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, you can click on the following link, or search on the internet for other sources/references.

https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hw180537

***

Anthi Psomiadou — CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International : Credit must be given to the creator/ Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted/ No derivatives