Maia a Sad Story of a Little Girl, Australia

Picture courtesy of the Herald Sun Newspaper Victoria Australia

What would you do if you found out that your beautiful baby had a condition that was incurable and that it would lead to their death?

For me I would be heartbroken, angry and god knows what else. I hope that I or anyone else reading this never has to go through such a thing.

One couple in Australia had this happen to them, and now there is an inquest into their daughter’s death. It is such a sad story but has also angered me as well. Here is a brief outline on it all.

Pablo Comas and Samantha Razniak had a beautiful little girl and named her Maia. In late 2007 Maia was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, a neurological condition that occurs almost exclusively in girls and results in deterioration in speech, balance and co-ordination are prone to gastrointestinal disorders and up to 80% have seizures. They typically have no verbal skills, and about 50% of females are not able to walk or move around, Scoliosis, growth failure, and constipation are very common and can be problematic.

Having such a diagnosis as a parent must be such a shock to be an understatement, I cannot even begin to think how I would react or think. As I have followed this case I hope it would not have been anything like theirs.

After the diagnosis this is what has been reported at the inquest into her death.

In September 2007 a meeting with specialists and authorities Samantha mentioned committing suicide by jumping off a cliff holding Maia in her arms, and then Pablo asked about euthanasia, was there any legal or medical support for it in Australia.

He was told, “Any such action would constitute murder.” He continued to express angry thoughts about Maia and having to live with her. Pablo was also quoted saying, “why do they keep children with these disabilities alive?”

Pablo also said during the meeting, “`It doesn't seem fair on the child, I need to protect myself, I cannot cope with it. This is out of range, we are two hippies living in a house playing guitar.''

Then in another meeting with authorities, Samantha said it would be ``safe if she was dead'' and wanted help ``to find a lethal injection for that to occur''.

Pablo and Samantha told social workers that Maia was, “dragging them down.”

A neighbour Miss Flower had noticed a change in Maia’s behaviour about six months earlier and informed Pablo of her suspicions that Maia was autistic.

"Pablo said they had been to the doctor and asked if they could give her an injection," she said.

"I said to him, 'She's not a dog, she's a beautiful girl, she looks normal, she's fine'."

Samantha’s grandmother told the enquiry how Samantha became upset and pushed Maia away because she didn’t recognise her.

On the day of Maia’s death, she had apparently wandered away while Samantha got breakfast ready; a frantic search was conducted but didn’t include the pool as it was thought to be covered.

Maia was found in the pool face down by her grandmother, she was taken into the living room of the house, Samantha who was trained in resuscitation just stood by and did nothing, this could have been shock but who knows.

Miss Flower the neighbour tried CPR while the ambulance was called. She sadly never made it. The cause of death is drowning or immersion. What is being questioned is if it was an accident or there was foul play involved.

There are many questions that need to be answered, such as how Maia managed to climb the steep stairs to where the pool was. As policeman Constable Cairns said, “I was told that Maia was unable to walk up the stairs.” He stated he had suspicions but was unable to find if a crime had been committed.

And what is so sad about all this is, foster care placement had been found for Maia just weeks before her death, but Pablo and Samantha declined it as Samantha’s grandmother was coming to stay.

Now the “ifs”, if she had gone into placement care, she would still be alive and being loved and cared for today. She wouldn’t have a quality of life, but it would be a life. Life expectancy can be around 40 years of age for a sufferer.

I hate to judge but from what I have read, it looks so suspicious and I just cannot believe how selfish these parents were. It sounded like right from the start they were only worried about losing their lifestyle, their freedom and not about what their daughter was going to go through in the coming years.

Would I be able to bring a daughter up with such a disease or syndrome? I really don’t know. I hope that I would exhaust myself trying, I am sure there would be moments where you question anything and everything, but in the end this is your child that you should love until death.

I hope that this inquest finds the truth, and I hope Pablo and Samantha never have another child as if they do and it is handicapped in anyway, how will they react? Maybe they have grown up since Maia’s death or maybe not.

This is just a sad story of an innocent girl who never had a chance of life no matter the quality it would have been.

They are my thoughts.

Brunty