What happened to Beata Kowalski? We discuss the mother of Maya Kowalski, one of the main subjects of the 2023 Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya. It contains details that some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.
A controversial documentary on Netflix from June 2023 tackles the shocking and disturbing case of young Maya Kowalski, who was diagnosed with CPRS.
CPRS stands for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a rare condition that causes many symptoms, including severe cramping, headaches, and lesions on the patient’s body and limbs.
The Kowalski family had been living with the condition, as young Maya was often struck with terrible pain through the condition. Her mother, Beata Kowalski, a registered nurse, knew of the condition and was devoted to her daughter, doing anything she could to alleviate the pain.
However, a fateful night would set in motion a string of circumstances leading to a tragic and unresolved conclusion for the whole family.
This article will explain what we know about Beata and answer what happened to Beata Kowalski.
Who is Beata Kowalski?
Beata Kowalski was the mother of Maya Kowalski, the child at the center of the tragedy that would unfold. When Beata was only a teenager, she would leave her homeland of Poland and start a new life in America.
Beata was driven and studied hard at the nursing school where she would qualify as a registered nurse.
She would meet her husband, Jack Kowalski, and eventually marry.
Their daughter Maya would be the couple’s firstborn child, followed by a son, and the family would live in Venice, Los Angeles.
What happened to Beata Kowalski?
Maya would show symptoms of CPRS in early 2015. Beata would use her training to help her daughter’s suffering and would eventually engage the help of Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, an anaesthesiologist and expert in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). However, during a visit to the emergency ward of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, staff would be suspicious of Maya’s condition and call child protection services.
This authority would remove Maya from the care of her parents and explain they felt that Beata was showing signs of Munchausen by Proxy, a psychological condition that can cause parents or carers to impose symptoms of illness on another person, making it seem they are ill.
The effect of the separation on Beata was too much, and after eighty-seven days of being separated from her daughter and unable to care for her, she would take her own life.
What was the reason behind Beata Kowalski’s death?
The Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya shows the spiral of despair that the family starts to go through. Beata’s pleas for the hospital to understand Maya’s condition and the treatment she knew she required would raise red flags for the staff involved.
The documentary has shocking footage and audio surrounding the decisions made about Maya, and her husband, Jack, gives a heartbreaking account of the moment when the child protective agency advises him that Maya would now be in State custody.
It would be suggested that Beata was responsible for worsening Maya’s illness and over-medicating her. The ongoing investigation would end tragically, with Beata taking her own life in the garage of their home.
It seems that a judge’s decision not to allow Maya to see her mother in December 2016 would be the tipping point for Beata.
