She kept her daughter in a wheelchair even though Gypsy was perfectly capable of walking - and as it turns out, perfectly healthy, period. For years, Dee Dee told friends and family that Gypsy suffered from a range of different ailments, including leukemia, epilepsy, and muscular dystrophy, on top of having the mental capacity of a 7-year-old child. Dee Dee and Gypsy had been living in Springfield, MO after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home in 2005.