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Missouri Woman Fears Illinois Will Keep Son In Foster Care After Turning 18

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Missouri woman has claimed she is fighting a David-and-Goliath battle with the state of Illinois over her son, and she fears even when he turns 18 in two weeks, Illinois will still insist on custody.

It all began in the Spring 2014. Michelle Rider, of Kansas City, said she brought her teenage son to Chicago for medical treatment.

At age 4, her son was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition where tumors develop on his nerves, ultimately forcing doctors to amputate one of his legs. During treatment at Lurie Children's Hospital last year, hospital staff concluded that Michelle Rider had Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy. According to the National Institutes of Health, it is a mental disorder in which a parent or caretaker makes up fake symptoms, or causes real symptoms, to make it appear his or her child is ill.

Rider denied she has Munchausen.

"If it's a crime to want the best care for your son, perhaps I'm guilty of that," she said. "It's been really hard. It's been very difficult."

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The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services stepped in, and Rider's son went into foster care. At the time, DCFS said Rider routinely interfered with the doctors' diagnosis, at times urging them to switch Isaiah's medication, and even moving Isaiah to new hospitals when she disagreed with the medical staff.

In December, a judge ruled, after multiple hospital moves and years of treatment, Rider's son was the victim of child medical abuse by the hands of his own mother.

Rider said, in foster care in Dolton, Ill., "He was exposed to gang members. He had guns pulled on him multiple times … and he was sexually assaulted. He was raped by a man."

Rider said her son is back in Missouri, but in foster care under Illinois' jurisdiction, and not allowed to live with his mother. She said there's no sign DCFS will relinquish that, even after her son turns 18 in two weeks.

"They've ruined my life enough. They've destroyed my family," her son said in a video released Wednesday.

DCFS had no comment on Rider's latest claims.

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