Where is Maya Kowalski from Take Care of Maya on Netflix now?

Right now, the story of Maya Kowalski is being told in Take Care of Maya on Netflix. The documentary film details what happened to Maya when she started suffering from symptoms of a rare disease, and the doubt cast upon her family when they raised this with healthcare professionals.

A lot has happened in Maya’s life, and now she is living with her father in Florida. Here is a rundown of her story, and the latest on where she is now.

What happened to Maya Kowalski?

via Netflix

When Maya was just nine, she began suffering from severe pain in all her body, headaches, asthma attacks, lesions on her arms and legs and severe cramping in her feet. A year later, Maya’s symptoms relapsed during a hurricane, and she was in severe pain and admitted to hospital.

Her symptoms confused medical professionals, and her family later learned of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, who features in Take Care of Maya, officially diagnosed her with the rare condition.

Maya’s mother, Beata, raised this with healthcare workers Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital but was met with doubt and suspicion. Doctors suspected Beata Kowalski had the psychological condition Munchausen syndrome by proxy – and she was making the illness up. Beata also suggested her daughter take ketamine to relieve her pain.

A child abuse paediatrician named Dr Sally Smith put Maya in state custody, and whilst she was under this care Maya was blocked from seeing her mother, and her family.

After 87 days away from her daughter, Beata ended her life, saying in an email to family she couldn’t watch Maya suffer anymore. Just five days later, Maya was released from state custody hospital.

via Netflix

Where is Maya Kowalski now?

At the end of the Netflix doc, we see that Maya Kowalski is doing well, and can walk again. She’s 17, and lives in Florida with her father. She reportedly has full use of her arms and legs again, but still suffers from pain due to her condition.

“I do my best to push through,” she told People Magazine. “I’ve already missed a lot, so I want to make the most of life now.”A court order has restricted Maya from using ketamine for her pain relief, which has made her recovery difficult. She now uses a routine of extensive exercise to help manage pain.

Maya has been described as “mature and well-spoken” now, “with wide brown eyes and blonde hair that falls just below her shoulders.” She is as academically ambitious, and is taking part in Duke University’s Talent Identification Program for gifted children.

Maya is also a figure skater now, and according to The Cut, in March this year was able to compete in her first competition in five years, placing first.

According to an Instagram profile which appears to belong to Maya, she now has a boyfriend called Jon-Luc, and earlier this month the couple attended a premiere of Take Care of Maya with Maya’s father and other family members.

Her family has since filed a lawsuit against the hospital, which is scheduled for trial in September.

Take Care of Maya is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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• Take Care of Maya on Netflix: Where is Dr Sally Smith now?

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• Take Care of Maya is the heartbreaking Netflix doc about a family torn apart by illness