‘Devastated’ Netflix viewers left in tears over ‘gut-wrenching’ Take Care of Maya doc

Netflix viewers have dubbed a new documentary “the most gut-wrenching” thing ever after its heartbreaking story left them in tears.

When a child is very sick, most parents’ natural instinct is to seek help from medical professionals, but for Jack and Beata Kowalski, the decision to take their 10-year-old daughter Maya to hospital in 2016 would end up turning their lives into a nightmare.

Their harrowing story is documented in one of Netflix’s recent documentaries, Take Care of Maya, which details how their lives unravelled both during and after Maya’s hospital stay.

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Since her early childhood, Maya had been suffering with excruciating pain, her skin would feel like it was on fire, her feet started cramping and curling inward and at times it all became so unbearable she was left unable to walk.

As her health deteriorated the Kowalskis desperately searched for answers and eventually a doctor diagnosed Maya with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

Maya’s doctor prescribed her strong doses of ketamine to treat the condition, which causes persistent, severe and debilitating pain.

The young girl required such a heavy dose of the dissociative drug to treat her neuropathic pain that on one occasion the family even travelled to Mexico — where Maya was placed in a “ketamine coma”.

Initially, the treatment worked and Maya began to gain mobility back in her arms and legs.

However, a year later she relapsed and in another desperate attempt to get her help her parents rushed her to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.

But when they arrived, things took a horrifying turn when hospital staff accused Beata, a registered nurse, of medical child abuse.

Staff failed to understand Maya’s CRPS diagnosis and became alarmed when Beata told them they had been treating her with ketamine.

They accused the mum of having Munchausen by proxy syndrome — a mental illness that causes parents to fake symptoms to make it look like their child is sick.

Maya was taken into state custody and prevented from seeing her parents for months.

As time went by, Beata grew increasingly stressed and hopeless and after 87 days away from her daughter she tragically took her own life.

The heartbreaking tale, told through audio recordings, depositions and interviews with Jack, Maya and her brother Kyle Kowalski, has left Netflix viewers demanding justice for the family.

Taking to Twitter to share their reactions, one viewer wrote: “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. Shame on the hospital, court system and all those that stood by complicit while this injustice was happening.”

Another said: “Take Care of Maya is one of the most gut-wrenching and infuriating documentaries I’ve seen. If a 100-minute experience can shatter you so completely, I can’t even imagine what it must be like to live with the injustice every day.”

A third person agreed, adding: “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 week after Beata’s death, Jack regained full custody of Maya and after a year of treatments, she was able to walk again.

Maya, who is now 17, never alleged any abuse at the hands of her mother and claims she was “medically kidnapped” by the hospital.

Now, the family are seeking justice through the legal system by suing the hospital for $55 million in compensatory and $165 million in punitive damages.

A trial date is set for September 11, 2023.

For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk