Katherine Sidnell
As heatwaves continue to bake the US, an Indiana mom-of-two has tragically died after drinking four bottles of water in just 20 minutes.
It happened as her family enjoyed a 4th of July boat trip, with Ashley Summers joined by her husband and kids.
Just after arriving home though, the 35-year-old would collapse and suffer from a rare condition that would cost her life.
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Before the tragic incident, Summers had been spending time at Lake Freeman near Monticello over the holiday weekend.
It had been a special time for the family, as her brother Devon Miller explained to WRTV: "She loved being on the water. She loved being on the lake."
However, the mom-of-two had been complaining of severe dehydration during the boat trip and that she couldn’t drink enough.
She was also light-headed and said she felt headachy, causing her to down four 500ml bottles of water in just 20 minutes.
Upon returning home on Tuesday night though, her condition rapidly worsened with Summer then collapsing in her garage.
Though she was taken to IU Health Arnett Hospital, the mom never awoke and tragically succumbed to a rare condition: water toxicity.
The rare illness occurs when the body consumes too much water too quickly, leaving it unable to replace essential minerals quickly enough.
IU Health toxicologist Dr Blake Froberg explained this to WRTV, saying: "There are certain things that can make someone more at risk for it, but the overall thing that happens is that you have too much water and not enough sodium in your body.”
More likely to occur in the summer months, symptoms can include headaches, nausea, muscle cramps, confusion, seizures and vomiting.
In severe cases like Summers, it can also lead to swelling in the brain and tragically, death.
To counteract this, the doctor advises people to slowly drink regularly throughout the day and ensure that they have enough electrolytes, sodium and potassium in their system.
Tragically, her brother Miller now realises that the mom had warning signs of the condition, adding: "I mean, an average water bottle is like 16 ounces, so that was 64 ounces that she drank in a span of 20 minutes.
"That’s half a gallon. That’s what you’re supposed to drink in a whole day," he added.
The mom-of-two became an organ donor meaning that she saved the life of five others.
Now, the family are honouring Summers by raising awareness of water toxicity after her sudden passing and a Venmo account, @Cody-Summers-16, has been set up in her memory to pay for medical bills.