A four-year-old girl with Down syndrome spent about 40 hours in an Ontario emergency room after suffering from a serious respiratory illness, which her mother described as "completely ridiculous" and "unacceptable."

It was around 2:30 a.m. on November 9 when Yasmin, a resident of the Woodbridge area in Ontario, said she called 911 because her young daughter's fever had not dropped and she was vomiting every hour. CTV News Toronto agreed to use only Jasmine’s first name to protect her identity.

The couple were then taken to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, a new facility opened to patients in 2021, where the hospital recently said it has been struggling with a flow of "sicker" patients, leading it to operate at full capacity, especially in the pediatric unit.

Yasmin also told CTV News Toronto over the phone: "We didn’t wait long, I think I saw a doctor within about an hour of showing up in (the emergency department)."

But Yasmin continued, saying the process slowed down when the doctor ordered blood tests and X-rays, which showed the girl had pneumonia, and the family was told the four-year-old would have to stay overnight.

Around 8 a.m., they were moved from the examination area to the hallway, where they waited about four to five hours.

"I was tired and really sleepy," Yasmin said, adding: "We didn’t have a place to lie down, so I had to use two chairs and some blankets and make her a bed." She also said a nurse attended to her daughter during this time, including when she vomited on the floor.

At this point, she says, her daughter’s oxygen levels dropped. Yasmin said, "They had to put a mask on her face."

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common respiratory virus that mainly affects young children. The increase in illness across Canada, along with rising flu and COVID-19 cases, has contributed to a strained healthcare system, especially in children’s hospitals.

After learning the diagnosis, Yasmin and her daughter were moved again to another room inside the emergency department, where a bed was finally provided for the child and Yasmin slept on a spare chair.

Also, around 6 p.m. on November 10 - about 40 hours after calling 911 - the family was moved to a bed in the hospital’s general ward, where Yasmin said: "At one point I asked them to take us to SickKids Hospital because 'this is ridiculous,' they told me sick kids have no beds."