The hospital at the center of a $220 million lawsuit featured in the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya” insists that the mother of Maya Kowalski did, in fact, have Munchausen by proxy.
On Monday, doctors from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital testified about why they were concerned that Maya’s mother Beata – who committed suicide in 2016 – was suffering from Munchausen by proxy and exaggerated her daughter’s illness to get attention from healthcare workers, Fox 13 reported. The defense is insisting that Maya did not have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a condition that causes severe pain, and that Beata was behind her daughter’s illness.
Dr. Elvin Mendez, an allergy and immunology specialist, testified that he was concerned Maya’s alleged pain was more psychological. He said he communicated his concerns to her primary physician at least one year before Maya was taken to All Children’s Hospital.
“From my reading of the documents I received before her second visit, I can only use the words, did not add up,” Mendez said, according to WTSP.
Mendez also testified that he had first seen Maya in October 2015 and again in December of that year for a follow-up. He said Beata had brought Maya to him for a second opinion about immunodeficiency concerns and that Beata provided detailed records of Maya’s medical history. Mendez said he requested records from other physicians so he could review them for himself.
“I was concerned about Munchhausen Syndrome by proxy at the time because the symptoms of the physical examination, the objective tests that I reviewed in the medical records did not correlate with the story I was getting from mom,” Mendez said on Monday.
An attorney for Maya’s family, Jennifer Anderson, told the Herald-Tribune in 2019 that Beata was “an advocate for her daughter.”
“And my sense is it struck these ER doctors that we know better than this pushy mom who’s coming in here telling us how to do our job,” Anderson added.
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Mendez said on Monday that Maya’s blood work and tests showed she had a normal immune system, suggesting a possible psychological component could be behind her illness. He was also concerned about Maya’s alleged “severe asthma,” since it wasn’t consistent.
“We have someone with severe asthma admitted to the hospital for a few days and comes out with normal breathing test, and completely normal spirometry. The lungs just don’t work that way,” Mendez said on the stand.
Mendez said he didn’t have Maya’s complete medical history so he did not contact the Child Abuse Hotline to report Beata.
Dr. Richard Andrew Elliot testified on Monday that he was concerned by the amount of ketamine Maya was taking as part of her treatment for CRPS.
“I was quite surprised and shocked at the amount of ketamine that was reported,” Elliot said, according to Fox 13. “They were way higher than any doses I had ever seen given to a child.”
Maya was just 9 years old when she started having asthma attacks and headaches. Her symptoms soon evolved to include lesions on her arms and legs, and cramping in her feet, which began to curl so she couldn’t walk without assistance. Her parents, Jack and Beata, took her to doctors to find out what was wrong with their daughter, with at least one physician thinking the girl’s condition was all in her head.
“But Maya would be crying 24/7,” Jack, 61, told People Magazine in June. “We knew she wasn’t faking.”
Finally, the Kowalskis found Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, who evaluated Maya and diagnosed her with a rare disorder known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, an impairment of the nervous system that increases pain sensations – meaning even the slightest stimulus could cause severe pain to Maya. Kirkpatrick treated Maya and found that the only thing that worked for her condition was monthly infusions of the powerful anesthetic ketamine, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported back in 2019.
There are critics of the diagnosis and treatment since doctors don’t know what causes CRPS or exactly how to treat it, but the ketamine injections allowed Maya to return to life as an ordinary young girl.
All Children’s Hospital contends that it acted in Maya’s best interest by weaning her off medications and following the orders it received from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) after reporting suspected child abuse.
DCF required the hospital to keep Maya separated from her mother for 87 days.
Maya’s father Jack testified earlier this month that he and his family were told they would be arrested if they removed Maya from the hospital, Fox 13 reported.
Beata, a registered nurse who escaped communist-era Poland, eventually committed suicide, believing that doing so would lead the court to return Maya to her family’s custody.
Just days after Beata took her own life, the case against the Kowalskis was dropped and Maya was allowed to leave the hospital – after keeping her for three months under a court-ordered separation that only allowed Beata to speak to Maya on the phone with someone listening in. Their devastating phone calls can be heard in the Netflix documentary.
The Kowalskis sued the hospital and Dr. Sally Smith, a pediatrician and part-time medical director of the Pinellas County Child Protection Team, alleging the medical center’s negligence led to Beata’s death, NBC News reported.
“I was medically kidnapped,” Maya, now 17, told People Magazine earlier this year.
“Maya Kowalski was falsely imprisoned and battered. She was denied communication with her family,” attorney Anderson told jurors now that the trial for the lawsuit is finally underway. “She was denied communication with the outside. She was told that her mother was crazy. She was told by social workers, one in particular, that she would be her mother.”
Maya Kowalski, now 17, testified earlier this month that she overheard a conversation between a Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital staff member and her mother, during which the staff member said Maya had never asked to speak with her mother, Beata Kowalski.
“I remember that my mom was on this phone call and the person who she was speaking to … claimed that I never asked to speak to my mom. That I was doing fine. I was okay in my room. I hadn’t had any questions about why my parents weren’t allowed to see me,” Maya testified, according to video posted by Fox 9.
“And that infuriated me so much because all I did for days on end was demand to speak to my parents,” she continued through tears. “That’s all I wanted to do, and I most certainly wasn’t just sitting in my room. I was crying.”
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.