Maya | Take Care Of

By taking care of ourselves, we're also modeling healthy behaviors for those around us, particularly children and young people. By prioritizing our own well-being, we're showing that self-care is essential, and that it's okay to take time for ourselves.

Meanwhile, Beata was fighting a two-front war. In court, she was trying to get her daughter back. In the hospital, she was trying to stop doctors from forcing Maya into psychiatric wards or treating her for a mental illness she didn't have.

In 2015, 9-year-old Maya began experiencing excruciating chronic pain, skin lesions, and breathing problems. After numerous doctors were unable to provide a diagnosis, she was eventually diagnosed by a specialist with —a rare neurological condition that causes the brain to send constant pain signals to the body. The Controversial Treatment Take Care of Maya

Take Care of Maya is not just a documentary; it is a cautionary tale. It serves as a reminder that in the gray zone between rare disease and psychiatric disorder, there is a child. It warns us about the dangers of confirmation bias in medicine—seeing what you expect to see rather than what is actually there.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. By taking care of ourselves, we're also modeling

A judge ordered Maya to be held in state custody at the hospital. For 87 days , Maya was barred from physical contact with her family. Maya Kowalski's Story: do no harm - SciELO México

That ordinariness ended in the fall of 2015. Maya began complaining of severe stomach pain, fatigue, and a strange sensation that her legs were "on fire." After months of misdiagnoses and terrifying episodes where Maya would twist into painful, involuntary postures (later identified as dystonia), the family landed at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. In court, she was trying to get her daughter back

She was 43 years old.

For parents, the lesson is to be diligent but humble. For doctors, it is to listen rather than to label. And for the rest of us, it is a moment to sit with a painful truth: that sometimes, the system we trust to protect our children can break them.