A husband was left fighting to save his wife's life after she drank four bottles of water in 20 minutes.
Mum Ashley Summers, 35, had been enjoying a lakeside holiday at Lake Freeman in Indiana when she began to complain of feeling thirsty. The mum-of-two then drank four 500ml bottles of water within the space of just twenty minutes.
She had complained of feeling lightheaded and dizzy, as well as very thirsty. However, after she drank the water she collapsed in the garage upon returning home.
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Her husband, Cody Summers, started carrying out CPR on her after she collapsed. She was then rushed to Indiana University Health Arnett Hospital.
Her uncle Deon Miller told The Messenger: “It was really hot, and they were out on the water. She had a headache and felt really thirsty.
"She thought she must have been dehydrated, so she drank like four bottled waters in half an hour.”
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Ashley's brother said he believed she had drunk about 64 ounces, or a little under two litres, of water in 20 minutes.
He told WLFITV: “She just felt like she couldn't get enough water. When they left the sand bar to when they got to the dock, it was about a 20 minute boat ride ... she drank four bottles of water in that 20 minutes.”
Her uncle added: “Cody gave her CPR and got her going a little bit, but by the time they got to the hospital and ran tests and everything, they had to put her on the ventilator,” her uncle said.
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“By that time, her brain had swelled enough that it shut all circulation off to her brain, and she was brain dead.
“Then, that night, she was gone. It’s been a real shock for the kids and everyone.”
Ashley had suffered from a swelling on her brain. While the exact cause has not been confirmed, this can happen because someone has too much water and not enough sodium in their body, a rare condition called hyponatremia.
This can prevent the body from getting the right balance of chemicals and nutrients in the right places, disrupting homeostasis, or the body's ability to keep everything regulated, specifically the balance of water and sodium.
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Her brother said: “My sister, Holly, called me, and she was just an absolute wreck. She was like, ‘Ashley is in the hospital. She has brain swelling, they don’t know what’s causing it, they don’t know what they can do to get it to go down, and it’s not looking good’.”
Kit Roberts