The hospital at the center of a $220 million lawsuit featured in the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya” shared photos of Maya Kowalski at her prom and out with friends, claiming the photos show she is not in pain as she claims.
On Friday, Maya’s attorney told reporters that the pain caused by her complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) – a rare neuropathic disorder – had worsened due to the stress of trial, the New York Post reported.
“It’s been horrible,” her attorney, Gregory Anderson said, according to Court TV. “Maya has CRPS lesions reappearing. It’s not good.”
But in court on Tuesday, attorneys for Johns Hopkins All Medical Center presented social media photos showing Maya out on Halloween with friends and at her homecoming.
“This is the life of Maya Kowalski today,” hospital attorney Ethen Shapiro said. “We did not aggravate a pre-existing condition. She’s at her prom, she’s out in heels, has friends — it’s in complete contradiction to her testimony.”
Maya’s attorneys argued that the photos are inadmissible, but the judge allowed some of them into evidence, the Post reported.
In response to the photos, Maya testified that she often masks her symptoms and the fact that she is smiling in the photos does not mean that she is not in pain.
“I cried for an hour to my dad before that picture was taken because of how bad my leg pain was,” she told jurors, according to Fox News. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to go. That was my physical condition and mental condition.”
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Maya also said that her boyfriend had already purchased tickets to homecoming so she didn’t want to back out.
“I did not post that picture, meaning the defense went as far as to look up my friends’ account,” she testified.
The trial relates to the actions of Johns Hopkins in 2016, when staff reported that they believed Maya’s mother, Beata, was suffering from Munchausen by proxy and exaggerated her daughter’s illness to get attention from healthcare workers. Beata committed suicide and, shortly after, the Maya was released from the hospital and allowed to return home to her family. The Kowalski’s are now suing over the incident, alleging false imprisonment, medical malpractice, and infliction of emotional distress.
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.
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.
