Mum-of-two dies of water toxicity after downing too much water in 20 minutes
Ashley Summers complained of how she could not drink enough water to be satisfied before dying of water toxicity after downing too much too fast
A mum-of-two tragically died after drinking four bottles of water in just 20 minutes during a family day out.
Ashley Summers, 35, was enjoying a day at Lake Freeman, Indiana, with her husband and their two young daughters when she started feeling dehydrated.
Ashley Summers complained about not being able to drink enough water before sadly dying from water toxicity due to drinking too much too quickly.
Her brother, Devon Miller, said that Ashley drank "four bottles of water in 20 minutes" the usual safe amount to drink throughout a full 24 hours.
On the last day of the family's trip, Summers began complaining about a persistent headache and feeling lightheaded.
The family managed to return home from the lake before she collapsed in their garage and had to be rushed to the hospital.
Mr Miller shared with WRTV that his other sister called him to alert the rest of the family about the situation.
He 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'."
Ms Summers never woke up again, and her doctors later told the family she had died from water toxicity.
Her brother continued: "Someone said she drank four bottles of water in 20 minutes.
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"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."
Despite their heartbreak, the family shared that Ms Summers had saved five more lives by donating her heart, liver, lungs, kidneys and parts of her long bone tissue.
Toxicologist Dr Blake Froberg explained that this rare condition is more likely to occur during the summer or in individuals who exercise or work outside frequently.
He said: "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."
The symptoms of water toxicity are similar to those of dehydration and include muscle cramps, nausea, and headaches.
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