Mom ‘lied’ about daughter having terminal illness for free ‘Make-A-Wish’ trip to Disney World

An Indiana mom whose sick daughter caught the attention of the Make-A-Wish Foundation lied about the ‘terminal illness’ and failed to renew the child’s medical prescription, according to court documents. 

Katherine Jackson, 41, is accused of lying about the severity of her daughter’s chronic illness after she solicited donations on GoFundMe and received an offer for a free Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World. 

When the trip was cancelled due to Covid-19, the young girl received a parade and birthday party for 200 people at her home from the charity Give Kids the World Village, which also fulfilled her dream transforming into Elsa from Frozen in a professional photo shoot.

Ms Jackson, who is facing felony neglect and fraud charges, first launched the GoFundMe in 2021, writing that her then-five-year old daughter suffered ’80 to 90 seizures a day’. 

Jackson said her daughter was dying from Pilarowski-Bjornsson Syndrome (PBS) and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS). According to the National Institutes of Health, PBS is a disorder which impedes neurological development and impairs intellectual development.

Jackson managed to raise over $1,600 on GoFundMe, which prompted the Make-A-Wish foundation to reach out and offer the trip to Disney World. 

Local news broadcaster WANE reported on the young girl’s illness in 2022 after learning of the Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World.

‘Ultimately she has months left with us. That’s what doctors say. However, she writes her own story,’ she told WANE in 2022.

Jackson said her daughter was suffering from Pilarowski-Bjornsson Syndrome (PBS) and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) and that the prior was terminal

‘You can give me as many months or weeks as you think, but you’re not God. You’re not her. She’s sassy and she’s got a lot of fight.’

Jackson added: ‘She’s dying in front of us. But, it doesn’t both her. She just wants to color.’ 

When Jackson took her daughter to the hospital three weeks after the story, staff at the hospital raised concerns about possible medical child abuse due to the young girl’s seizures and her irregular heart rate. 

According to court documents, she was transported to another hospital where doctors reviewed her records and allegedly found Jackson was not properly filling out her daughter’s prescriptions. 

Investigators also spoke with a doctor who confirmed the child did suffer from PBS but told them that while it has no cure the illness is chronic, not terminal.

After two hospital visits, the girl and her sibling were taken into the foster care system. 

In a conversation with police last year, their foster parents told officers that the two weren’t toilet trained or in school when they took them in. 

Staff at the hospital raised concerns about possible medical child abuse due to the young girl’s seizures and her irregular heart rate

Jackson managed to raise over $1,600 and prompted the Make-A-Wish foundation to reach out and provide a trip to Disney World for her daughter

Their foster parents also noted that the girl suffered with delayed development, including to her speech, according to the court files. 

A psychologist, meanwhile, reportedly told officers that Jackson said her daughter’s condition was terminal and that she wouldn’t live for another year.

Jackson faces one count of fraud, and two counts of neglect, a court date has not been scheduled. 

Attorney details for Jackson were not available. Make-A-Wish have been approached for comment.