Munchausen Syndrome by proxy or Munchausen by proxy is a mental illness and a form of child abuse.
The case of Maya Kowalski follows a young girl whose mother was falsely accused of Munchausen by proxy. This story breaks apart a family seeking treatment for a life-endangering illness while seeking justice and the safety of Maya Kowalski.
At a young age, Maya was described as energetic and full of joy by her family. Like many young children, she climbed trees and was rough-housed in the backyard. It was around 2015 when Maya began having mystery symptoms that had debilitating effects that left her unable to walk due to unbearable pain. The family sought medical treatment for Maya but ran into issues since no one had seen what Maya had been experiencing before. This ultimately led the family to a doctor in Mexico who believed a procedure could help Maya.
Maya was brought to Mexico where she was given a procedure by a doctor who supposedly was well-experienced with Maya's illness. After the procedure was over Maya demonstrated positive symptoms and was cleared to go home after a couple of days. Throughout the next couple of months, Maya increasingly got better and continued to do the things she loved before her illness struck. However in 2016 after a traumatic experience in a hurricane Maya's illness returned with even more pain than before.
The John Hopkins Stay
Shortly after the hurricane Maya was brought to John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital to receive treatment. After the procedure back in 2015 Maya received regular infusions of ketamine which played a big role in managing her symptoms. When Maya arrived at Hopkins the medical staff was disturbed about the dosage Maya was receiving, Maya's mother Beata was very insistent on the ketamine since it was the only thing that could manage Maya's pain. The doctors and the Kowalski family went back and forth on Maya's treatment since she was getting increasingly worse. After a couple of days of arguing, the hospital staff decided to report a child abuse case regarding Maya Kowalski, the staff believed that Beata had Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
The Kowalski family was interviewed and had psychiatric evaluations in which results demonstrated that the family was in distress by Maya's illness. The hospital backed off for the moment but continued to pursue the idea that Beata had Munchausen by Proxy. The Kowalskis got lawyers as their rights to Maya were on the rocks. The hospital staff closely monitored visitation privileges and medical decisions. The Kowalskis lawyer discussed with the hospital regarding Maya's medical history and the severity of her condition. However, the hospital believed that Beata was making Maya sick which led to the termination of the Kowalski’s custody of Maya. Maya was now under the custody of the state which stopped all current medical treatments Maya was receiving and limited the visitation rights of the Kowalskis. The Kowalski family was now in pain since they fully grasped the concept of the severity of Maya's illness. Maya had numerous medical records supporting her illness but it wasn’t enough to convince the hospital.
Throughout Maya's stay in the hospital, her illness progressed to the point where she was bedridden. The only medication Maya received was Tylenol. Blood clots in Maya's legs began to form due to her illness and lack of movement. These blood clots began to travel up into Maya's chest and enter her heart where it could cause her to go into cardiac arrest. The hospital staff blamed it on Maya’s unwillingness to move, however, there is evidence of the hospital staff putting Maya’s wheelchair out of reach so she couldn’t leave which resulted in Maya having to urinate on herself. The hospital staff denied all these claims and blamed Maya for her worsening state.
The Abuse of Maya Kowalski
During the time Maya was imprisoned by John Hopkins for over 90 days (2016-2017) Maya was subjected to multiple forms of abuse which left psychological and physical trauma.
The Hospital staff illegally filmed Maya's private room which caught multiple videos of evidence of abuse that Maya experienced during her time in the hospital. At certain times if Maya attempted to communicate what the hospital was doing to her regarding treatment or care the hospital would block the signal preventing Maya from discussing her state with her family. Maya's primary social worker who worked for Johns Hopkins and specialized in pediatrics has a criminal record of child abuse and possible child molestation. Maya admitted that the social worker was aggressive and did not treat her well. Maya's nurse made a remark about being Maya's new mom and even held her in her lap and kissed her. The team that Maya was under showed little remorse for Maya and even had a phone conversation insulting Maya and her family and describing Maya as the “ketamine girl”. Maya also did not receive any treatment from the hospital which made her illness increasingly worse causing her to be in more pain than ever.
John Hopkins vs. Kowalski family
During this time Beata became aware of what the hospital was doing to Maya in which she fought even harder to ensure Maya's safety. As further investigation continued they decided to interview both of Maya’s parents which led to the decision by the state to terminate Beata's parental rights, Maya’s father was given visitation rights with moniteration. Shortly after this, Beata realized the fight was too much and committed suicide. This left the Kowalski family devastated. This greatly impacted the case which led to further investigation of what JH was doing to Maya as well as Maya’s mystery illness.
After further exploration the state decided it would be best if Maya was released back into the care of her father due to the mental and physical trauma that the family went through, Maya was finally released from John Hopkins after a grueling 90-day stay.
After Maya was released from the hospital her family sought treatment in which she was formally diagnosed with CRPS or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Maya continues to receive ketamine treatments and do the activities she loves to do.
Nearly a year after being released from John Hopkins with Maya’s health being stable the Kowalski family took action to sue John Hopkins for false imprisonment and possible child abuse. This case took place in 2018-2023, a total of five years. The trial was brutal with the health care staff of JH denying any claims Maya stated and even lying under oath. Maya’s case worker was asked bluntly if Maya having to urinate herself due to the nurses purposefully moving her wheelchair out of her reach was child abuse, she replied, “I think that’s a stretch”. Maya’s staff often showed little remorse for her while taking care of her and in the trial. One of Maya’s doctors was asked about Maya’s blood clots that could ultimately result in death, especially in Maya’s condition she replied that even though they knew it could cause problems they weren’t urgent about the situation, Maya’s scans showed that the blood clots were already traveling to her heart which mean she could die any minute. Maya’s staff often lied about her condition and said she was often happy and active but the footage in Maya’s room shows Maya bedridden and often tired.
The trial continued to get pushed back but in November 2023 the Kowalski family won and was awarded 260 million dollars in damages. The Kowalski family was in tears as the verdict was being read. Maya Kowalski stated that she finally feels some sense of justice since the whole event started. However a month after the verdict was read Maya Kowalski stepped forward and admitted that the abuse wasn’t the only thing she was subjected to while she was staying at JH. Maya Kowalski reported a sexual assault that happened to her during her stay at JH by a man who was presumably a doctor who walked into her room and asked to “take a peak” in which he continued to pull Maya’s gown up and pull down her underwear to then stare at her for long enough in which Maya stated, “It was extremely uncomfortable”. She started to cry as he stared at her before he walked out the door and on his way out he said “Thanks”, Maya said she never saw him again. Maya was unable to add this as evidence in the current trial because it would push back the case at least a year due to investigation which is the reason why she did it after the verdict of the original trial. A couple weeks after this John Hopkins appealed to a mistrial which stated a juror misconduct where they failed and were forced to accept the final decision.
Further information about Maya’s sexual assault that took place at the time of her stay at JH is pending due to the trial just ending recently.
Current Situation of the Kowalskis
The Kowalskis have spent the last seven years fighting a mystery illness and state legal services but won their battle. Maya Kowalski is getting better day by day but continues her battle of getting justice for her time spent at JH by now fighting a court battle of a sexual assault report. The Kowalski family currently lives in Venice, Florida where Maya receives her Ketamine treatments and rests after the past draining years. The Kowalski family lost much more than ever imagined but gained justice by fighting their way through the legal system and medical stereotypes.
Many hearts go out to the Kowalski family as they can now rest and recover from the psychological trauma of the past seven years.
Munchausen by Proxy Awareness
Munchausen by proxy is an illness that is dangerous among victims and parents. Many parents have been falsely accused of Munchausen by proxy such as Maya’s mother which ended in tragedy or had been missed such as Gypsy Rose’s mother which also ended tragically. Munchausen by proxy gets mistaken too often which often leads to fatal outcomes. There was too much evidence supporting Beata's theory about Maya to have ended in permanent trauma. The story of Maya shows how broken the system is by ending her mother's life and nearly Maya’s herself. More education on this illness needs to be implemented, the number of lives being ruined by mistakes by physicians has been far too great to be ignored. Munchausen by proxy is a silent killer that suffocates its victims.
In the documentary Take Care of Maya many parents have stepped forward and shared their story of being falsely accused of Munchausen by proxy, many devastating stories that have fatal effects of this mistake.
Authors Note
My mother was too a victim being accused of Manchusan by proxy. I cannot explain the support and love I received from my mother regarding my health issues and the pain I felt when I was accused of making it up or my illness being fake. As for anyone else struggling, know you are not alone in the legal hospital battle and the fight for your health. As far as John Hopkins, I was planning on pursuing research there and had close connections, I have decided to personally destroy any connections with John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. After learning about Maya’s story and the record of the hospital staff having a child abuse record I ended my contact and encouraged others to do the same. JH actively supports and justifies what they did to the Kowalski family and many other families under their care.
However, this does not validate parents who do possess Munchausen by proxy. Most of the time physicians misdiagnose families which causes fatal outcomes. No one deserves to be a victim of Munchausen by proxy or be falsely accused. We need to educate ourselves better on the condition to give families the best possible outcome.
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