According to prosecutors, Jennifer Bush was the victim of child abuse at the hands of her mother, Kathy Bush. (AP Photo)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Court TV) — Three years after charging Kathy Bush with child abuse, taking her daughter away, and accusing her of having a controversial illness known as Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy, prosecutors Tuesday began opening statements in their case against Bush — and did not mention the psychiatric disorder at all.

Florida prosecutors say Bush has Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy, an illness that causes mothers to harm or fabricate illnesses in their children in order to get attention for themselves. Between August 1993 and April 1995, Bush took her now 12-year-old daughter Jennifer to the hospital on 130 separate occasions. Jennifer Bush underwent approximately 40 surgeries for chronic illnesses such as immune system deficiency, gastrointestinal problems, and seizure disorders.

Jennifer's chronic illnesses appeared so severe that she had to have medical tubes surgically inserted into her intestines, stomach, and the area around her heart. Medical records show that Mrs. Bush reported numerous instances of seizures, vomiting, and diarrhea and Jennifer suffered from sepsis, a rare and sometimes fatal blood infection, 15 times while in her mother's care.

Jennifer's constant battle against illnesses — and her parents' struggles to pay her medical bills because they lacked medical insurance — attracted the attention of the nation and First Lady Hillary Clinton. Several people raised money for the Bushes.

But in opening statements Tuesday, prosecutor Dennis Nicewander told jurors that Jennifer's several hospital trips made doctors and nurses suspicious of child abuse as early as mid-1990. According to Nicewander, officials at Coral Springs Medical Center in Florida reported the defendant to the state child welfare agency at that time, but investigators did not take action until another report was filed by another hospital in 1995. Once Jennifer was out of her mother's care, Nicewander said, her condition improved dramatically.

"The procedure that was done that cured her on the spot was a telephone call," Nicewander told jurors. "The cause of [Jennifer's] illness was her mother. Kathy Bush was obsessed with the medical environment."

For now, Florida prosecutors cannot specifically mention, but can only hint at, Bush's alleged Munchausen disorder. In a pre-trial ruling, presiding Judge Victor Tobin said that prosecutors must introduce evidence of the psychiatric disorder before they can mention it to the jury and link it to Bush.

However, Bush's attorney, Robert Buschel, suggested in his openings that his client does not suffer from a mental disorder. The problem, Buschel argued, lies not with his client but with the prosecution's case.

"The state of Florida wants you to believe Kathy Bush is a disordered mother," Buschel said. "But this is a disordered case."

Buschel insisted that Jennifer was critically-ill and had a gastrointestinal illness and immune system deficiency disorder that was genetic — her older brothers, who are now healthy, suffered from the same illnesses. Buschel argued that Jennifer's health began to improve before she was taken from her mother, that she began to eat normally instead of through feeding tubes. The defense claimed Jennifer's health has improved because of the last surgical procedure on her intestines.

Buschel suggested Bush became a target of investigators because she challenged some nurses at one of the hospitals where Jennifer was treated. At one time, Bush filed a complaint against nurses at the Coral Springs Medical Center for performing tests on Jennifer without her permission and without the knowledge of the child's pediatrician.

Jennifer Bush has been in the custody of a foster family since her mother's arrest. She may testify for the prosecution through a closed-circuit camera. Kathy Bush will go on trial for a separate, yet related, charge of fraud at a later date. In that case, prosecutors believe Bush lied about her family's income and assets in order to receive Medicaid benefits.

Court TV's Bryan Robinson and Aletse Mellado contributed to this report.