Maya Kolwaski, 17, is seeking justice for her mother, who took her own life after Florida doctors wrongly accused her of Munchausen by proxy, a mental illness and a form of child abuse leading to the child being taken into CPS custody.
The story of Maya Kowalski — a young girl, 10, who suffered from a series of odd symptoms including severe pain that spanned her body, resulted in a hospital falsely accusing her mother of Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSP).
The parents shared that she had been diagnosed with a condition called complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS.
The 17-year-old, 10 at the time, was placed into state custody for three months.
‘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 said. ‘I was medically kidnapped.’
Beata fell into a deep depression after being unable to care for her daughter. And, when a judge denied her from giving her daughter a hug at a court hearing, it broke her.
It ‘destroyed her,’ Maya’s father said, and his wife became inconsolable after.
In January 2017, Beata took her life.
Now, the 17-year-old is speaking out, as her family’s gut-wrenching struggles will be aired in a new Netflix documentary, Take Care of Maya, premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this month and streaming on June 19.
Beta was 43. She had spent more than 87 days without her daughter. An email was found after her death with the words, ‘I’m sorry.’
‘But I no longer can take the pain being away from Maya and being treated like a criminal. I cannot watch my daughter suffer in pain and keep getting worse,’ she wrote.
Maya was eventually released into her father’s custody and returned to her home in Venice, Florida.
Jack told People that the hospital did not treat Maya with ketamine and as a result, her health worsened. She was also unable to receive ketamine treatments due to a court order.
Instead, Maya tried alternative therapies including, water therapy. He said it took about 16 months until his daughter was able to walk on her own.
Maya is now able to use her arms and legs but said she still suffers pain but is managing.
More than six years after her mother’s tragic death, Maya told the news outlet, ‘I just want to get justice for my mom.’
‘For us as a family to move on, we need to fulfill my mom’s wish and fight,’ she said.
Credit: People, Daily Mail, The Cut, Yahoo