As a country, we have a knee jerk reaction when bad things happen. After Columbine, many schools went down hard saying students had to tuck in their shirts and could only have mesh backpacks, even though the killers had arrived to school later and basically went to shooting in no time. Then after the sinking of the RMS Titanic, some boats overloaded on the lifeboats thus causing them to sink anyway.
Child abuse didn’t really become a legal issue until the 1970s. Parents could basically beat their kids within an inch of their lives and the police would drink beers with the dads if they were called. Or if it was too extreme, it was handled like in Bastard Out of Carolina where the abuser got his ass whupped within an inch of his life. But most courts and parental groups switched to making sure the kids didn’t do drugs or worship Satan.
Can the parents go too far in making sure their kids are safe? Yes. Can the courts go too far in making sure the kids are safe from their parents and legal guardians? Hell, yes. The documentary Taking Care of Maya on Netflix looks at both angles. When she was younger, Maya Kowalski was diagnosed with a rare condition called complex region pain syndrome (CRPS) at age 9. It was confirmed by two other doctors and Maya was put on a low dose of ketamine.
She underwent a five-day ketamine-coma in Mexico and got better. But in October of 2016, it got worse and she was taken to the John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla. with Maya’s mother, Beata, telling the staff that she needed a high dose of ketamine. They were ignored. And the hospital staff felt that Beata had been abusing Maya by giving her a high dose despite they confirmed her CRPS with her doctors. They reported Beata.
And it went downhill from there. Maya and her father, Jack, say they felt that when the hospital called in Dr. Sally Smith, medical director of child protection services in the area, she was just another doctor working for the hospital. They claim Smith never properly identified herself and they answered all her questions, even though they probably should’ve consulted a lawyer. Smith isn’t interviewed for the documentary but archive footage is used. Smith determined that Beata was suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy and then the trouble really started.
Jack and Beata weren’t allowed to be around Maya as the state took custody of her. Beata, a registered nurse herself, had to talk to her on monitored phone calls. Finally, after three months, Beata committed suicide. Then an independent evaluation proved that Beata hadn’t harmed Maya and she was released back into the custody of her father. Next the lawsuit was filed and it’s been dragged through the court system for years.
As for Smith, the Kowalski wasn’t the only family she tore apart. But if she saved one child but ruined nine other families, is it worth it? Or was Smith, the courts and the hospital more concerned with making money. Even after she was released, the Kowalskis were billed outrageous amounts. And some people might think that Jack didn’t do the best to support Beata. The documentary ends with the case still unresolved. My guess is Netflix and filmmaker Henry Rooslevelt probably put it out to stoke a fire in Florida.
If anything else, it might make many parents of grown children glad they got them raised without the same problems coming about. Others will hug their children closer and hope that they never have to deal with the bureaucracy. All it takes is for one hospital official to start asking questions. But if they don’t ask questions and a child is being abused and worse things happen, where do you draw the line?
It’s like the old saying, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 