Doctor who prescribed Maya Kowalski ketamine treatments says Netflix 'Take Care of Maya' teen would have suffered a 'slow painful death' without it as he testifies in $220 million case

The doctor who prescribed Maya Kowalski ketamine treatments says the teenager at the center of Netflix's 'Take Care of Maya' would have suffered a 'slow painful death' without them.

Dr Anthony Kirkpatrick testified that Kowalski, 17, required the treatments to be able to do basic things such as feed herself and brush her hair due to the fact she was suffering from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

He took to the stand in a $220 million court case against Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital on Tuesday amid a legal battle brought by the teen's family after she was removed from their care as a child and held at the facility.

Kowalski was placed into state custody for three months at the age of ten, after doctors at the Florida hospital began to suspect her parents were faking symptoms of her debilitating condition. 

Florida's Department of Children and Families and a state judge also supported the suspicions of 'child medical abuse' and ordered her to be housed at the center.

The doctor who prescribed Maya Kowalski ketamine treatments, Dr Anthony Kirkpatrick, says the teen would have suffered a 'slow painful death' without them

During this time her mother, Beata, took her own life amid the misery of being separated from her daughter. 

Dr Kirkpatrick was the person who first diagnosed Kowalski's CRPS. He told the court: 'A light touch, blowing on the skin, is perceived as being painful. She had that. She had a bad case of it.'  

He initially prescribed low doses of pain medication ketamine, which Kowalski reportedly responded too, but he soon deemed they were not enough. 

He then recommended upping the dosage and an intensive 'ketamine coma' treatment in Mexico, something he said he discussed with the hospital.

Dr Kirkpatrick told the court: 'I emphasized that if she doesn’t get the ketamine, it’s going to be a slow, painful death.'

The family opted to move forward with the therapy, which Kirkpatrick said was a success.

He added: 'She could take care of herself, comb her hair, brush her teeth, eat with her hands and so forth.'

The Kowalski family is hoping the doctor's testimony will persuade jurors the teen was in fact suffering from CRPS, which hospital staff began to doubt when she was admitted in 2016.

The Kowalski family is pursuing a $220 million lawsuit against the Florida hospital where Maya Kowalski (left) was held as a child after staff suspected she was a victim of 'child medical abuse'

They questioned how insistent Kowalski's mother in particular was to have her daughter prescribed the ketamine treatments and began to suspect she may have Munchausen Syndrome by-proxy, a psychological condition where caregivers crave medical attention for their wards.

It has previously been reported that Kowalski's mother demanded a 1,500mg dosage of ketamine for her daughter.

Typically, standard anesthetic doses in a clinical setting are typically well below 10 mg, according to rehab center The Recovery Village Ridgefield.

While treatment for acute CRPS is normally treated with 1 mg of ketamine per kilogram of body weight per hour, according to Florida Medical Pain Management.

At a previous hearing, lawyers for the hospital highlighted the potential risk of the ketamine treatment and questioned the family's eagerness to pursue it.

JCACH attorney Ethen Shapiro asked the teen's father, Jack Kowalski, if he was made aware the coma therapy carried a 50 per cent risk of death.

The father responded that, 'there is a risk in every procedure'.

But Shapiro pressed further, saying: 'I understand that Mr. Kowalski but respectfully there’s a risk and then there’s a risk that’s a coin flip in which your daughter could pass. Did you know it was 50 per cent?'

The dad replied that he was aware but had been told that nobody had ever died from the procedure.

Kirkpatrick also testified that Kowalski and her mother loved each other.

He said: 'She loved her child, and you know what? The child loved her mother.' 

Kowalski previously became emotional recounting the last time she saw her mom to the court.

Maya's mom, Beata, (right) took her own life after she was diagnosed with a depressive mood and adjustment disorder after being separated from her daughter for 87 days

Kowalski's family said her Complex Regional Pain Syndrome left her in agony and unable to walk

She said she had been laying in bed when he mom came to pick up her belongings and said 'I love you and I'll see you tomorrow' , but struggling through tears she added, 'and I never saw her again.'

The teen also sported a distinctive necklace which she had bought for her mother whilst she was in the hospital.

She said: 'I found out later that she wore it every single day and when she was found in the garage she was still wearing it and I have it on my neck right now.' 

Beata Kowalski took her life after being separated from her daughter for 87 days. 

The family's heartbreaking story is now at the center of the explosive Netflix documentary 'Take Care of Maya', as well as the trial.

Their lawsuit alleges Kowalski's condition was aggravated by the care she received at the hospital and that she was videotaped for 48 hours and, on another occasion, stripped down to her underwear and photographed without the permission of a guardian or the dependency court.

AndersonGlenn LLP, who launched the lawsuit on behalf of the Kowalski family confirmed the family is seeking $55 million in compensatory and $165 million in punitive damages.

Maya Kowalski (pictured left) was detained at Florida's Johns Hopkins All Children's hospital after staff suspected her mother Beata (center) might have been faking her daughters symptoms for Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome

 Dr Kirkpatrick told the court he discussed his prescription of ketamine therapy to Kowalski with staff at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital

The hospital's defense is expected to center on staff status as mandatory reporters required by state law to call the abuse hotline if they have 'reasonable cause', the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Shapiro previously stated that the decision to remove Maya was made by the child welfare system rather than the medical facility.

The hospital released a statement to DailyMail.com which read: 'Our priority at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital is always the safety and privacy of our patients and their families.

'Therefore, we follow strict federal privacy laws that limit the amount of information we can release regarding any particular case.

'Our first responsibility is always to the child brought to us for care. Our staff are required by law to notify Florida's Department of Children and Families (DCF) if they suspect abuse or neglect.

'It is DCF and a judge – not Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital – that investigates the situation and makes the ultimate decision about what course of action is in the best interest of the child.

'We are determined to prevent any chilling effect on the obligation to report suspected child abuse in order to protect the most vulnerable among us.'