An 82-year-old Arizona woman is fighting for her life after falling asleep at the community pool in Queen Creek.
Betty-Lou Summer was admitted to the ICU after falling asleep at her community pool and suffering severe heat stroke and burns covering approximately 30% of her body, all within a single hour.
According to ABC 15, Michelle Gabbert, Summer's daughter, said her mother drove herself to the pool near her home, as she had recently retired and planned to spend her days relaxing poolside.
"She went to sunbathe, lie down, fell asleep, kind of dozed off, and then became unresponsive," Gabbert said.
Pool bystanders noticed Summer was not waking up and called paramedics, who covered her in wet towels and moved her into the shade. Summer was rushed to Banner Ironwood Medical Center on June 11.
Gabbert, a physician, said her mother's condition was critical upon arrival.
"They intubated her. They had to put her on pressers. She had burns all over her body, blisters," Gabbert said. "She went into hypovolemic shock, and her kidneys were shutting down, which happens with heat stroke."
The desert sun was unrelenting.
"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 said.
Summer has since been taken off the ventilator and dialysis, and her liver and kidney lab results have returned to normal. However, she remains in the burn unit ICU and faces a long recovery.
Gabbert said her mother's age and the thinness of her skin played a role in the incident.
"Especially with little kids, they have a smaller body surface area, and then with the elderly, older people, their skin is very thin," Gabbert said. "They have trouble regulating their temperatures. Their temperature sensors in their body don't work the same."
Gabbert urged families with elderly parents or young children to take extra precautions in the Arizona sun, including wearing big floppy hats, protective clothing, and sunscreen, and staying hydrated. She noted that Summer did have water with her at the pool, but the situation escalated too quickly.
