Andrea Dumlop

And remember that shopping our sponsors is a great way to support the show.

So to recap, Maya is diagnosed with CRPS on September 23rd and receives her first ketamine infusion starting on October 6th.

Then she comes in for a follow-up on November 2nd where they discuss the lackluster results of this intervention.

Dr. Kirkpatrick explains the next step they took.

On November 12th, fewer than eight weeks after Maya's diagnosis, Beata, Jack, and Maya flew to Mexico to visit Dr. Fernando Cantu for an experimental procedure that would begin on November 18th.

It's described here in the film.

The Kowalskis were referred to Dr. Cantu by Dr. Kirkpatrick, and as he testified to a trial, this treatment was a last resort for patients suffering from the elusive condition of whole-body complex regional pain syndrome.

He said in court that a qualification for the procedure was that patients were experiencing pain on 80 to 90% of their body and that they had failed all other treatments.

Because these high-dose infusions administered while the patient is intubated and in a medically-induced coma are extremely risky.

Here's Jack in Take Care of Maya.

Though Dr. Cantu equivocated on the exact percentage on the stand, when asked in a pretrial deposition about just how high the risk of death was for this procedure, Dr. Cantu said 50% or more and testified that he always informs patients of the risks.

And Beata, on her blog, positions this risk as necessary.

She writes, quote,

So far, I am the youngest child in history who has developed severe generalized RSD in a very short period of time.

And I am the first youngest child in history who is going to be placed in a high-dose ketamine coma.

It's my last and only chance for a better quality of life.

And this framing goes unchecked by the Netflix film.

Beata also emphasizes the risks Maya in particular is at from this procedure on her blog, writing, quote,

This procedure is very high risk in my complex case due to the fact that I have immunodeficiency, very poor nutrition status, and now severe adrenal insufficiency.

I was told today that I am a high risk patient for developing infection slash sepsis during the coma, difficulty weaning off the ventilator after coma, needing blood transfusions, and total body failure slash death as a result of adrenal insufficiency and other complications.