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Maya Kowalski, the young woman at the center of an alleged child medical abuse case in Florida that drove her mother to suicide and inspired the Netflix documentary "Take Care of Maya," testified about her experience Monday.
When Maya, who was diagnosed with a rare medical condition called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), was 10 years old in 2016, she was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (JHAC) in St. Petersburg for severe pain.
Hospital staff suspected her parents of child "medical abuse" and contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), which separated Maya from her parents while she was hospitalized.
"It was actually so unbelievably cruel, the amount of time they allocated for me to spend with my family after hearing such awful news," Maya testified Monday in a Sarasota County courtroom.
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Maya's mother, Beata Kowalski, hung herself in her garage Jan. 7, 2016, after going months without seeing her daughter due to the medical abuse allegations, according to the family's attorney, Greg Anderson.
Maya, in court wearing a necklace she gave to her mother, broke down on the stand when describing how she felt something was wrong just before she learned of her mother's suicide.
"At two in the morning, I broke down in tears. I was just crying uncontrollably," she testified, adding that she called for a nurse for help at the time. "I told her, ‘I miss my mom, I miss my mom, I love my mom. I want to go home to my mom.’ Turns out she ended her life."
The day before Beata took her own life, Maya said she remembers her mother telling her, "I love you, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"I never saw her again," Maya testified.
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Kowalski also became emotional when describing her relationship with her younger brother and how he also struggled through her illness.
"Take Care of Maya," the Netflix documentary about the medical abuse allegations that tore the Kowalski family apart, follows Maya and Beata, a registered nurse, as they navigate Maya's CRPS and different treatments for the medical condition. CRPS is a poorly understood illness that causes severe pain throughout a person's body due to nervous system dysfunction, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
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Her symptoms included "episodes" of severe pain in her limbs and skin lesions. Her feet would also turn inward when she was experiencing CRPS episodes, a common reflex for patients with CRPS.
Maya's father sued JHAC and medical personnel assigned to his daughter's treatment in 2018, alleging the hospital falsely accused Beata of medically abusing Maya and failing to properly care for his daughter, causing his family emotional distress.
Beata, who kept notes documenting Maya's illness due to her experience as an RN, insisted with doctors and nurses at the children's hospital that Maya had been diagnosed with CRPS and that doses of ketamine help with her pain.
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Hospital staff, in turn, suspected Beata of medically abusing her daughter when she demanded that staff allow Maya to take ketamine to ease her pain. It's an accusation the hospital still stands by after a Sarasota County court determined staff had reasonable cause to suspect abuse.
"This Court has determined that Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital reported suspected child abuse of Maya Kowalski in good faith," a Sept. 12 request for special jury instructions states. "Neither Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital nor Catherine Bedy can be found legally liable for making that report."
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JHAC did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital regarding Maya's testimony Monday, but the hospital previously told Fox News Digital in a statement the hospital's priority is "always the safety and privacy" of its "patients and their families."
"Therefore, we follow federal privacy laws that limit the amount of information we can release regarding any particular case. Our first responsibility is always to the child brought to us for care, and we are legally obligated to notify [DCF] when we detect signs of possible abuse or neglect," the hospital said. "It is DCF that investigates the situation and makes the ultimate decision about what course of action is in the best interest of the child."
Maya alleged Monday that hospital staff would accuse her of making up symptoms and told her that her complaints were in her "head."
Doctors called the DCF to report their suspicions of medical abuse. Maya was placed in the custody of child protective services worker Catherine Bedy, who is no longer employed at JHAC, while Maya was hospitalized for months without seeing her parents.
Maya on Monday recalled a 48-hour period while she was in DCF custody during which she was placed in an isolated room.
"They left me there for 48 hours under surveillance, which they did not tell me about," she testified. "They had a commode in there, and they just put it far enough away from the bed. So, I would have to physically stand up and use the bathroom. I called the nurses whenever I had to use a bathroom because, obviously, I'm not able to walk. And when they refused to help me go to the bathroom, I would defecate on myself."
Nearly five years after the Kowalskis' lawsuit was filed and seven years since Maya was initially admitted to JHAC, both sides will present their cases in court.
