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BARRIE, Ontario, Canada — When a young mother rushed her baby to the emergency room, she couldn't afford to pay the hospital's parking fee, so she threw change in a meter on the street and hoped it would be enough.
When it became clear that her time was going to run out, dozens of strangers came to her aid to make sure that didn't happen.
Kaylee Goemans knew something was very wrong when her 6-month-old baby, Dominic, started screaming for hours on end for no apparent reason, according to Today Parents. Suspecting colic, she took her baby to the doctor for X-rays and ultrasounds in an effort to get to the bottom of the problem.
When the results came in a week later, it was clear that things were serious.
"The doctor called to inform me Dominic had a loop in his bowels filled with air and fluid," Goemans told Today. "The doctor said to get to the ER fast."
Goemans couldn't afford to pay the $15 parking fee at the hospital — she'd been laid off from her job at 28 weeks pregnant and couldn't find another one, thus missing out on paid pregnancy leave benefits — so she found a spot on the curb and put in enough change to last about four hours, Today reported.
"I didn't think I would be more than three hours as my doctor said I would be going straight through, no wait," Goemans told Huffington Post Canada.
But three hours ticked by, and with no clear end in sight, the worried mother began to agonize over the idea that she'd be ticketed or towed. Since she didn't want to leave her son to feed the meter, she did the only thing she could think of — she turned to Facebook for help.
After explaining her situation on a local group's page, New Barrie Moms Buy and Sell Everything, she wrote, "I put all my change in the street metre but it's going to run out at 3:30. Will I get towed or just a ticket? I can't leave my newborn to run out, and we didn't expect to be this long."
Goemans figured she'd get a quick answer to her question and proceed from there, but the women who saw her post decided a simple reply wasn't nearly enough.
Knowing I had all these ladies there for me, to help me with parking, meals and even hugs made me be able to focus just on my son and his needs.
–Kaylee Goemans
"Women just starting pouring in, asking what car I drove and where I was parked to put change in for me," she told Today.
One by one, people in Goemans' community stopped by to feed the meter so she could stay with her baby. Aside from helping with her parking situation, strangers offered to bring food, coffee and hugs to the hospital to help ease Goemans' stress. In all, her original post on Facebook elicited over 100 comments bearing encouragement and offers of help.
"The stress of seeing so many doctors poking and hooking your baby up to wires and drawing blood is just heartbreaking," she said. "Knowing I had all these ladies there for me, to help me with parking, meals and even hugs made me be able to focus just on my son and his needs."
Goemans told Huffington Post Canada that when her mother came to pick up her car nine hours after she'd parked it on the street, there were still five hours left on the meter, thanks to her impromptu cheering squad.
"I was overwhelmed with joy," she said. "Restored a lot of faith in people."
As for baby Dominic, doctors diagnosed him with a painful bowel disorder that can block fluids and food from passing through his body and can even cut off blood supply. Additionally, they found a heart murmur, according to Today.
The baby will undergo a corrective procedure soon, but may need further surgeries.
"He's so sweet and very brave," Goemans told Today.
