Woman left fighting for her life after falling asleep in the sun
An elderly woman was left with severe burns and organ failure after spending an hour asleep in the sun.
Earlier this month, Betty-Lou Summer, was sunbathing on a metal chair at her local community pool in San Tan Valley, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, in the US, when she dozed off under the blazing sun.
The 82-year-old was asleep for around an hour when fellow poolgoers noticed that she had become unresponsive, according to a report by local news station ABC15.
After calling emergency services, bystanders then covered Summer with wet towels and moved her into the shade while they waited for medical help to arrive.
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Summers in southern Arizona can reach extremely high temperatures, with the weather on the day that Summer fell ill reaching over 40°C (105f).
"She went to sunbathe, lie down, fell asleep, kind of dozed off, and then became unresponsive," Summer's daughter, Michelle Gabbert, explained.
Spending an extended period of time in intense direct sunlight can put extreme stress on the body, with rapid dehydration, heat exhaustion, sunburn and heatstroke developing if proper precautions aren't taken.
The family are hoping Summer's story will serve as a reminder to people to make sure they are using adequate protection when outdoors in the heat, as well as the dangers of sunburn and heatstroke.
Summer was taken to a nearby hospital, where her condition was deemed critical.
'Her kidneys were shutting down'
The recent retiree had suffered severe heatstroke, burns covering 30 percent of her body and multiple organ failure.
"She had burns all over her body, blisters," Gabbert, who is also a physician, explained.
Going on to reveal that her mother had to be intubated, she continued: "She went into hypovolemic shock, and her kidneys were shutting down, which happens with heat stroke."
Summer's burns weren't only caused by sun exposure, either, with the heated-up metal chair causing her skin to become 'fried'.
"Her pinky tip, which was touching the metal chair, was completely, the whole tip of it was gone. Anywhere that touched the metal on the chair completely just fried," Gabbert added.
Summer was then put on a ventilator and dialysis to support her organs. She has also undergone numerous surgeries in order to remove the dead and damaged tissue.
"The whole front of her body, all the way down to basically the muscle and the bone, is burned. And it's significant," Gabbert also told AZ Family.
Summer is now recovering from her extensive injuries and is expected to remain in hospital.
The family have since set up a GoFundMe to help pay for Summer's medical bills and aid her recovery, which will include further surgery and rehabilitation.
'She is a fighter'
The fundraiser's latest update said that her 'injuries are much worse than originally thought', adding: "She has several 3rd degree burns that required removal of skin and tissue down to the muscle.
"She will require additional surgery in 4-6 days, then will require skin grafting surgery. We expect her to be in the burn ICU for an extended period of time."
However, it highlighted the 'good news' - Summer was 'now off the ventilator', with 'her labs are now normal and her kidney/liver function has recovered'.
The fundraiser added: "Burn injuries are one of the worst things anyone can survive but we already know she is a fighter and we have faith she will survive this horrendous nightmare."
Brenna Cooper