Content warning: mention of suicide and suicidal ideation
Netflix’s newest documentary, Take Care of Maya, is based on the very true story of a young girl named Maya Kowalski. In October 2016, Maya, then age 10, was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for a flair up of complex regional pain syndrome symptoms (CRPS), which is a rare chronic condition that causes pain, often burning sensations, in the extremities.
At that time, Maya had been living with her condition for over a year, per The Cut. Her parents, Beata and John Kowalski, had taken their daughter to a CRPS specialist, Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, who suggested ketamine, a strong general anaesthetic, was the best way to alleviate the pain Maya experienced from her condition. Maya’s symptoms were so severe, that she was placed in an experimental “ketamine coma” that drastically, but temporarily, reduced her CRPS symptoms.
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However, doctors at All Children’s were unfamiliar with Maya’s diagnosis, and grew suspicious of her parents’ choice of ketamine treatments. The hospital consulted with Dr. Sally Smith, a doctor for child protective services, who opened an abuse investigation and eventually misdiagnosed Maya, saying her symptoms were caused by Munchausen’s Syndrome by proxy, a mental illness in which a person (in this case Maya’s mother) acts as if someone they’re caring for has a physical or mental illness when they don’t.
Maya was subsequently separated from her parents for over 90 days, only allowed to see her father under strict supervision. She was not allowed to see her mother at all.
Here is everything to know about Maya Kowalski, her diagnosis with complex regional pain syndrome, the family’s lawsuits and trial, and where she is now.
What was Maya diagnosed with?
Prior to her All Children’s visit, Maya was formally diagnosed with CRPS, or chronic regional pain syndrome, by Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick. Her symptoms began after a respiratory infection, which is common for CRPS. The condition can also stem from dramatic bone fractures, per Mayo Clinic. Maya’s parents initially took her to All Children’s when her pain surfaced in 2015, but the doctors were unable to diagnose the illness, according to The Cut.
CRPS is an extremely difficult disease to understand and diagnose. A study by the National Library of Medicine found that people suffering from CRPS are more susceptible to suicide ideation due to the extreme pain associated with the disease.
Jack Kowalski later took Maya to see another specialist, who re-confirmed her CRPS diagnosis.
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What happened to Maya’s mom, Beata?
In January 2017, 87 days into her separation from Maya, Beata died by suicide. She wrote a final email to her family saying her pain was too difficult to bear, per the documentary.
After Beata’s death, Maya was released into her father’s care.
Maya’s mother, Beata, was described by people as intense, but Maya described her mother as “powerful,” per The Cut. “She was always the type of person to try and make me feel better….she went the extra mile to make people smile,” per PEOPLE.
Maya, who was only 10 years old at the time this all went down, views her All Children’s stay as a medical kidnapping, and, according to the documentary, she was never given a straightforward answer as to why she couldn’t see her mother. “One day I was in the ICU, and my mom kissed me on the forehead and was like, ‘I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ I never saw her again,” Maya told PEOPLE.
In the final note Beata wrote before her death, she reiterated that she couldn’t bear being helpless while Maya was in pain. Authorities asked Jack Kowalski whether he thought his wife gave indication of suicidal ideation. “No,” he said in a recording featured in the documentary. “But my daughter has an illness, and it’s all started from that. Just the disease alone was horrible.”
Beata holding Maya as a baby. Maya’s CRPS symptoms began when she was about 9 years old.
Where is Maya now?
Maya, who is now 17, currently lives with her brother, Kyle, and father, Jack, in Venice, Florida. Court orders forbid the Kowalski family from seeking ketamine treatments, so Maya’s recovery was “slow and more painful than it needed to be,” per PEOPLE. More than a year after being released from All Children’s, she regained use of her legs, but Maya is still living with CRPS.
The Kowalski family filed a lawsuit that is going to trial.
The trial date for their lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is set for September 11, 2023. The family previously settled with Dr. Sally Smith, who misdiagnosed Maya with having symptoms caused by Munchausen’s by proxy and instigated Maya’s separation from her parents, for $2.5 million.
Based on the documentary footage, Maya has given several depositions regarding her cases against Dr. Sally Smith, All Children’s and her social worker, Cathi Bedy. “I want justice for my mom,” she told PEOPLE.
To learn more about Maya’s story, you can stream Take Care of Maya on Netflix now.
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Olivia Evans (she/her) is an editorial assistant at Women’s Health. Her work has previously appeared in The Cut and Teen Vogue. She loves covering topics where culture and wellness intersect. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, running, and watching rom-coms.
