Monika Burgett listens to opening statements during her trial Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prosecutors are accusing Burgett of child abuse and other crimes, saying her preschool-age son... (Associated Press) 
 
 CINCINNATI (AP) — A woman has been accused of pretending to be a doctor and falsely claiming her preschool-age son had terminal cancer so he could receive unnecessary hospital care and opioids. 
 
 A Hamilton County prosecutor told jurors on Tuesday at the trial of Monika Burgett that she convinced doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center that she was a doctor while they cared for her 3-year-old son. 
 
 Officials at Children's Hospital declined to comment about Burgett's role in her son's treatment. 
 
 Assistant prosecutor Anne Flanagan said Burgett also used the GoFundMe fundraising website to raise $40,000 on her son's behalf. Flanagan said Burgett had the boy's eyebrows and head shaved and then took photos of him to post on the site. 
 
 Besides child abuse, Burgett is on trial for felonious assault and telecommunications fraud. 
 
 Dr. Robert Shapiro testified that Burgett "became a member of the health care team" as her son was treated with drugs including Oxycodone and methadone, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported . Doctors eventually suspected her of lying about the boy's symptoms and reported her to the county's family services. 
 
 Burgett's lawyer, M.J. Hugan, said she lied about being a doctor but said her son had many medical problems since he was born premature and she was trying to get help for him. Hugan said Burgett had been with a former husband while he was going through medical school. 
 
 "At some point, she adopted the idea that she was a physician," Hugan said. 
 
 The now-5-year-old boy was removed from Burgett's custody last year. Court records show that as of mid-June he lives with his father in Texas. 

 Buy Photo Monika Burgett listens to opening statements in her trial. Prosecutors say she lied about her son's health, having him receive unnecessary treatment that included methadone and oxycodone. Her trial began Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. (Photo: The Enquirer/Phil Didion)Buy Photo 
 
 As Monika Burgett sought treatment for her son that prosecutors say was unnecessary, she convinced doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center that she was a physician. 
 
 Burgett “became a member the health care team,” as her then-3-year-old son was treated with drugs including Oxycodone and methadone, Dr. Robert Shapiro testified Tuesday in Burgett’s trial. 
 
 Doctors eventually came to believe Burgett, 39, was lying about the boy’s symptoms and reported suspected child abuse to Hamilton County Job and Family Services. 
 
 Burgett had also managed to convince family members – including her husband and sister – that she was a doctor. 
 
 “They believed it for many years,” Assistant Prosecutor Anne Flanagan said during opening statements in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. 
 
 Burgett even participated in a blog for mothers who are physicians. 
 
 Flanagan said Burgett’s lies extended to two GoFundMe pages created on behalf of the boy. Among the false claims, according to testimony, was that he had a brain tumor. 
 
 Burgett had his head and eyebrows shaved, took photos of him and posted them on the pages, Flanagan said. 
 
 The GoFundMe pages amassed approximately $40,000 in donations. 
 
 Based on Burgett’s claims, Flanagan told jurors, her husband and others thought “that this little boy had cancer and was terminal.” 
 
 Buy Photo Monika Burgett's attorney M.J. Hugan speaks to the jury during opening statements for her trial at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Tuesday Aug. 8, 2017. (Photo: The Enquirer/Phil Didion) 
 
 Burgett, who previously lived in Texas, took the boy to hospitals in Austin, Dallas and Houston before bringing him to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2015. He also was hospitalized in Tennessee. 
 
 Burgett’s reports of fake symptoms, Flanagan said, led to “unnecessary and excessive treatment.” 
 
 “This little…child was living a life of sedation – of tubes stuck in his face and nose, tubes in his intestines and stomach,” Flanagan said. 
 
 He was removed from Burgett’s custody in March 2016, according to testimony, and placed in foster care. Within a week, the boy, now 5 years old, was thriving. 
 
 After being cared for at Children’s Hospital without his mother’s input, he was “running around the room from the bed to the couch” with spaghetti sauce “around his mouth,” Shapiro testified. 
 
 “He needed no pain medication whatsoever,” Shapiro said. “He ate like a champ.” 
 
 According to juvenile court documents the boy, as of June 20, was living with his father in Texas. 
 
 Burgett’s attorney, M.J. Hugan, said the boy had numerous medical problems – she pointed to stacks of binders filled with records – and needed medical care since being born extremely premature at 25 weeks. 
 
 He was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder, which caused a growth inside his mouth. 
 
 Doctors, she said, had authorized the treatments and procedures. 
 
 Hugan said Burgett sought treatment at multiple facilities because the boy's medical issues were complex. Doctors had made errors, as well. 
 
 Hugan said doctors at one Texas hospital didn’t realize her son had suffered a brain injury after a vehicle crash. She took him to another hospital, where he was properly diagnosed and underwent two brain surgeries. 
 
 “What she was trying to do, is get care – get the right care for her child,” Hugan told jurors in opening statements. 
 
 Hugan acknowledged that Burgett lied about being a doctor. Her previous husband is a doctor and she had been with him during medical school, Hugan said. 
 
 “At some point, she adopted the idea she was a physician,” Hugan told jurors. 
 
 Testimony will continue Wednesday before Judge Curt Hartman. Burgett is charged with child abuse, felonious assault and telecommunications fraud. 
 
 Officials at Children’s Hospital declined to comment about Burgett’s role in her son's treatment. 
 
 Chris Graves contributed to this report. 
 
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– A woman has been accused of pretending to be a doctor and falsely claiming her preschool-age son had terminal cancer so he could receive unnecessary hospital care and opioids. A Hamilton County prosecutor told jurors on Tuesday at the trial of Monika Burgett that she convinced doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center that she was a doctor while they cared for her 3-year-old son, the AP reports. Officials at Children's Hospital declined to comment about Burgett's role in her son's treatment. Assistant Prosecutor Anne Flanagan said Burgett also used the GoFundMe fundraising website to raise $40,000 on her son's behalf. Flanagan said Burgett had the boy's eyebrows and head shaved and then took photos of him to post on the site. Dr. Robert Shapiro testified that Burgett "became a member of the health care team" as her son was treated with drugs such as oxycodone and methadone, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Doctors eventually suspected her of lying about the boy's symptoms and reported her to the county's family services. Burgett's lawyer, MJ Hugan, said she lied about being a doctor but said her son had many medical problems since he was born premature and that she was trying to get help for him. Hugan said Burgett had been with a former husband while he was going through medical school. "At some point, she adopted the idea that she was a physician," Hugan said. The boy, now 5, was removed from Burgett's custody last year. Court records show that as of mid-June he lives with his father in Texas. Besides child abuse, Burgett is on trial for felonious assault and telecommunications fraud.