Take Care of Maya: Quand l'hôpital fait mal

It's multi level $h!t show. From the laws, to CPS, to medical doctors,hospitals, to the courts and lawyers. And it's about money and power.

Beata didn't bow down and give the respect/worship that obviously some had felt entitled to. Don't ask questions. Don't act like you have a brain, don't respect your own voice and individual rights or powers. Know your place. These are all indoctrinated until we don't even know we are living with those chains on. Beata was a hero. As is every other parent you doesn't fold.

The policies and laws should not be governed by popular opinion. It got this way because 30-50 years ago child abuse was perhaps, too easily overlooked, but just like everything else..... things swung to the opposite extreme direction. What's even scarier, are people who REALLY think they are doing the right thing, not realizing they are being driven by any and everything but what is right ethically and morally. I hope this opens up some eyes and hearts, but that we don't go all crazy and swing crazy opposite again. When will we learn?

I'll try to hold onto the belief that everyone in this scenario had the best interests of children at the heart in their positions. I'll try, although there's a huge conflict of interest issue that I'd like to see a second documentary tackle all in itself.

(The assessor also being part of the for-profit corporate care system that the referred children go into.)

But lets say that the care givers are there still to "do no harm" and were wanting the best for Maya. This documentary still poses the problem of what to do for "unicorn" illnesses. What to do when doctors from different establishments differ on diagnosis and treatment. Who gets to decide when there's not a widely established protocol?

And mainly, who gets the final decisions when it comes to health.

I'm not sure whose diagnosis and treatment are better, frankly, and will have to read more. Perhaps on that it was a toss up or even that the hospital involved was right.

However, when a hospital thinks parents seeking treatment for a child are wrong for following a doctors orders, there I can see what everyone else here is seeing. How would a mother or father know which doctor to trust? And why would they believe this group at the hospital when they've seen actual improvement before this that no one else got?

There had to be a better way to handle this.

There had to be a more HUMANE way to handle this.

There should be a less corporate, systemic way to handle this.

But unfortunately for some, the system overrules the carers and a few bad apples playing into that spoil it for the bunch.

As "Take Care of Maya" (2023 release; 103 min.) opens, It's "February 24, 2021" as we are introduced to a guy named Jack. He muses "There is nothing that could prepare me for what I went through." We then go back in time: Jack remembers meeting Beata, and eventually they have 2 kids, a girl and a boy. The girl, Maya, suffers from a strange illness when she is 9... At this point we are less than 15 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from director Henry Roosevelt ("Tough Guys"). Here he examines the phenomenon currently referred to as medical child abuse (a/k/a Munchausen's by proxy). Jack and Beata bring Maya to the ER at Johns Hopkins All Children's, and next thing we know the hospital calls in Children Protective Services, and things only get worse from there.. I mean, you have to see it for yourself because otherwise you won't believe it. (The fact that Florida outsources its privatized child welfare service to a third party should be an INSTANT red flag, but hey that's Florida for ya.) The results are as predictable as they are preventable. Families shredded apart? No worries. Lives destroyed? Who cares. I honestly don't know how some of these people can sleep at night. This documentary is bound to get under your skin, if not outright infuriate you. Don't say I didn't warn you!

"Take Care of Maya" premiered recently at the Tribeca, to immediate critical acclaim. There is good reason why this documentary is rated 91% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. It started airing on Netflix a few days ago, which is where I saw it. If you are in the mood for a medical=themed documentary that is equally heartbreaking as it is infuriating, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

I suffer from CRPS.

I also have other medical issues that end me in the hospital. I have to explain to each doc that comes in what CRPS is. EACH TIME. Noone wants to believe you. You lose friends, relationships and family members. And most medical people think your lying or it's in your head.

This is why it's nickname is "The Suicide Disease.

I've never wanted to throw something at my tv so bad before. I feel for this family. Especially for Maya and the loss she has suffered. Stress can trigger a CRPS flare up. Just like the hurricane did.

The ignorance and arrogance of these doctors are unreal.

Great documentary.

I also suffer from CRPS/RSD. I have type 2. Started in 2015 and I am almost now full body. I relate to Maya and this family in so many ways. My thoughts are with this young lady. The disease is real, the pain is unbearable, there Is no cure yet. Hoping to see a cure in my lifetime. Stay strong Maya.

For those reviews that I read that called this a fake disease, I pray you never get it. Better yet, live with this for a single day. One day. I bet you would not call it a fake disease after that. I have an implant to keep my pain at a tolerable level and my feet straight.

"I REFUSE TO SINK" keep that in mind fellow warriors!