An Australian mummy blogger has been blocked from accessing up to $60,000 in donations for an online fundraiser for her sick baby after she was accused of faking the child’s brain tumor by drugging her.
The mother of four, who cannot be named to protect the baby’s identity, gained more than a million followers by documenting her son’s life-threatening illness in great detail on her social media accounts.
It is understood hospital staff raised the alarm after the mother’s online updates about the boy’s surgery did not match his actual treatment. The baby was placed in foster care on October 21 and is understood to be recovering.
A GoFundMe campaign launched in June as the boy was said to be fighting for his life in a coma raised more than $60,000 from donors.
However, the funds were frozen after Queensland Police said they were investigating the woman over reports of “child harm”.
A GoFundMe spokeswoman said the page will no longer accept donations or allow withdrawals, but that money will be returned to those who donated “in the rare case that something is wrong.”
‘Our Trust and Safety specialists are investigating the allegations made as part of our standard due diligence process. “This includes cooperating with police investigations,” the spokeswoman said.
It comes as the woman’s estranged husband, who is the child’s father, also publicly accused her of drugging the child.
The boy’s father publicly accused the mother of drugging her one-year-old son (stock)
Hundreds of kind-hearted strangers donated to the cause.
People have been suspicious of the mother’s intentions for months.
She claimed to have no idea what was supposedly happening and had believed the surgeries would help her son’s seizures and non-cancerous tumors.
“For what it’s worth, I had no idea what (the mother) was doing to (the child),” the devastated father said in a social media post on Monday.
‘I pushed for those surgeries because in my heart I felt they would help.
‘I didn’t realize that (the girl) was (allegedly) being drugged all the time, which caused her symptoms to be what they were.
‘I do the best I can to love and protect my children. I should have done better for them. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect (the child) like I should have.”
The couple was previously active on multiple social media platforms, but their accounts are no longer updated.
On Tuesday, Queensland Police confirmed their investigation in a statement to Daily Mail Australia, but no charges have been laid.
“Police are aware of reports of harm to a one-year-old girl,” police said.
‘The Queensland Police Service took action to protect the child and launched an investigation.
“As this is an active investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted both parents for comment.