Once she got there, she expected that loading up the parking meter for four hours would suffice, as her doctor had forwarded little Dominic's test results ahead of her visit.
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However, his exams revealed that her little guy was pretty ill, and she knew she couldn't leave his side. As the hours ticked by, that left her to stress and worry about her car. Would she get a ticket? Would it be towed? Money was tight for the new mom, who had lost her job when she was pregnant and had been unable to gain new employment. This meant she didn't have $15 on hand to pay for the hospital's parking fee.
Soon, however, she came up with an idea. She reached out to her local "mom" Facebook group — a forum for moms in her area to buy and sell kid things. And after she posted, asking for some help, nearly 100 people responded. And some actually went out to where her car was parked and fed the meter for her so she could remain by Dominic's side without worry.
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Social media has changed our lives. There is no question about that. Some people have found their birth parents via Facebook, or tracked down a lost object or raised awareness. Moms have found major support when friends or family weren't close by and made friends they didn't know existed until they were found online. And while social media can have its downside (for example, it makes it pretty easy to bully someone on the internet), it is still capable of doing so much good.
Reaching out on social media, like Facebook, is nothing new to modern moms. A recent survey showed that 40 percent of parents seek advice and support online, and that number is likely to continue going up as time marches on. When our moms were new parents, they reached out to their own friends and family in person or on the phone. Now we can reach out to an entire world via our computers or phones from our cars, our beds or at Target, and get advice and support in a few minutes.
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Now moms, including Dominic's mom, know that there are other moms out there who can and will lift up another mother in need, and that a simple Facebook post can provide much needed comfort, security and help when you need it most. And that's priceless.