Netflix’s latest documentary has been leaving viewers absolutely distraught.
Take Care of Maya came to the streaming service recently, and it follows the story of Maya Kowalski who began experiencing symptoms of a rare neurological disorder when she was just ten years old. Symptoms included her feet turning inwards, and her skin feeling as if it was on fire.
Her parents, Jack and Beata, were understandably desperate to find answers for their child, and after speaking to multiple professionals, Maya finally got a diagnosis from Dr Anthony Kirkpatrick of CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome) in 2015.
Kirkpatrick prescribed her high doses of ketamine, but when that failed to work the family travelled to Mexico so that she could be put in a ‘ketamine coma’. This initially yielded positive results, with Maya regaining mobility in her arms and legs and her back straightened. However, a year later, she relapsed.
The family rushed to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg in Florida, but things took a turn for the worse when Maya’s mum Beata, who was a registered nurse, was accused of medical child abuse.
Authorities took the ten-year-old into custody, while Beata was accused of having Munchausen by proxy, which is a mental illness where a parent makes it look as though their child is suffering from health problems. Following a psychological evaluation, it was confirmed that Beata did in fact not have the syndrome, but was still kept from seeing her daughter.
Tragically, 3 months after Maya was first taken off her, Beata took her own life.
The documentary’s official synopsis says: “In 2016, Jack and Beata Kowalski took their daughter, Maya, to a hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“The 10-year-old was admitted to the ER with a severe stomach ache. Instead of a quick hospital stay, Maya was taken from her parents and kept there.
“The tragedy that unfolded next is the subject of the investigative documentary Take Care of Maya, a troubling exploration of how a fractured healthcare industry tore a family apart.”
The story is told via a collection of depositions, interviews with the family and audio recordings from Beata herself.
Viewers have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the heartbreaking documentary.
“Just finished watching Take Care of Maya on Netflix and I’m emotionally exhausted. Had to be one of the most gut-wrenching documentaries I’ve ever seen,” one person wrote.
Another commented: “I have never in my life had to stop a documentary so many times, just to compose myself and wipe the tears away. How is this happening in a ‘first world country’? Take Care of Maya just destroyed me, I am shook to my core. I hope they televise the trial globally in September.”
A third wrote: “Take Care of Maya was an extremely powerful documentary. John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Dr. Sally Smith should be held accountable for their actions and what they did to the Kowalski family.”
