A parent is speaking out about the healthcare crisis in Ontario after a harrowing experience getting emergency medical care for their child.

Julia Malott shared a lengthy account of her daughter's painful struggle to get emergency surgery this week in a viral post on X (formerly Twitter), calling out Ontario's healthcare system as "broken."

Malott's daughter was brought to St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener, Ontario, on Sunday night, seeking treatment for "excruciating abdominal pain."

Though they arrived at the hospital at 10 p.m., it took four hours before a doctor visited and provided pain medication. Malott explained in her post that while it was clear by 4 a.m. that this was likely a case of appendicitis, it would take another four hours before ultrasound technicians were available, so the wait continued.

During the ordeal, the patient was forced to give up her emergency room bed for another patient without ever being treated.

It wasn't until 10 a.m. — a full 12 hours after arriving at the hospital — that Malott's daughter was finally diagnosed with appendicitis. The problem was, St. Mary's claimed it wasn't equipped for that routine surgery, and nearby Grand River Hospital also lacked emergency beds.

Though she expressed concern about being a burden to overworked staff, Malott continued to advocate for her daughter.

Malott's daughter finally underwent surgery on Monday night after almost a full day of waiting. While the surgery was ongoing, Malott posted a video essay addressed to Premier Doug Ford, Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones, and the entire provincial government, calling out both hospitals and the "atrocious" care received.

"Both hospitals did an atrocious job of prioritizing care for my daughter," reads Malott's post, which goes on to acknowledge that "blaming these institutions, and especially the healthcare professionals within them, would be misplaced."

"These are good, hardworking, caring people, who have been trapped in the impossible place of running emergency departments that are so wholly under capacity there's simply no way for them to meet their mandate."

Dear @fordnation, @SylviaJonesMPP and our entire Provincial Government.

I've written you this video essay—recorded while my child underwent surgery—only after 36 hours of sleep deprivation and social maneuvering to get our healthcare system to pay attention to my daughter's… https://t.co/qSgziQp3NC pic.twitter.com/JS14EkjFiY

— Julia Malott (@AlottaMalotta) January 30, 2024

Malott followed up with another post on Tuesday as her daughter was recovering from her appendectomy.

My daughter is now at home recovering from yesterday's late afternoon appendectomy.

But her experience—of a system that isn't equipped to handle medical emergencies—was harrowing. This experience has been very impacting on her because she herself is expecting to join the nursing… pic.twitter.com/L9GGGqCxAO

— Julia Malott (@AlottaMalotta) January 30, 2024

In another lengthy post aimed at the Ontario Ministry of Health, Malott says the experience left her daughter — who was expecting to join the nursing profession — disillusioned and second-guessing her plans to enter the healthcare industry.

She quoted her daughter as saying, "I never want to set foot in an emergency room as a nurse now. [They are] helpless and I never want to have to watch people experience the same thing I did."

Malott says "This impression is grim for all Ontarians — with the boomer generation moving into retirement we will need MORE healthcare professionals in the coming two decades than we've ever seen in this province."