Mom Warns of Sunless Heatstroke After Toddler Doesn’t Wake Up

Stock image of a person catching a child. (Pixelwunder By Rebecca/Pixabay)

A Canadian woman warned about sunless heatstroke after her toddler daughter didn’t wake up from a nap.

Jennifer Abma of Edmonton, Alberta, said that she was keeping her daughters inside amid a heat wave in her town, adding that her family home doesn’t have air conditioning, Today.com reported. It also posted a photo of the girl in obvious distress.

Her 3-year-old, Anastasia, went upstairs to take a nap after playing with her 1-year-old sister.

Abma said she went to check on her, finding the room extremely hot. She panicked when she couldn’t wake her daughter.

In a viral Facebook post, she wrote,  “THIS was my evening, this was the scariest moment I’ve had to imagine, THIS is severe heatstroke. There is nothing scarier than not being able to wake your baby up.”

She added: “THIS is clear proof a child doesn’t need to be in the sun to get heat stroke. It took us 20 minutes to wake her up, when ambulance came, they came with investigators because they didn’t know what to expect as did I.”

First responders came, discovering that her blood sugar was low and body temperature was 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The room temperature was about 122 F.

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Paramedics gave the girl sugar, and she eventually woke up.

“It took 15 minutes to wake her,” Abma told Today.com. “She got really, really lucky. She was probably minutes away from permanent damage.”

Abma said that her town rarely sees temperatures of more than 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here is her full Facebook post:

“THIS was my evening, this was the scariest moment I’ve had to imagine, THIS is severe heatstroke. There is nothing scarier than not being able to wake your baby up.

THIS is clear proof a child doesn’t need to be in the sun to get heat stroke. It took us 20 minutes to wake her up, when ambulance came, they came with investigators because they didn’t know what to expect as did I.”

“This was proof how fast things change.

Anastasia put herself for a nap, I had no idea how hot her bedroom was until I went to wake her up soaked in sweat, red face, boiling and unable to wake her for 15 minutes, ambulance arrived faster then I could have ever imagined and took her sugars which were 1.2 and should be above 4, they administered sucrose and in minutes she started crying clearly scared.”

“No it is not my fault this happened to her but it is hard not to blame yourself, this is a lesson learnt & hopefully other parents can take something from this & make sure you are checking the rooms in your house because they can be as dangerous as a hot car.

Still I’m shook and I can’t imagine what would have happened if I didn’t go check on her. We definitely had God on our side yesterday and I am thankful for emergency services and Jay who came as fast as possible to keep me together.”

Heatstroke

According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms include:

High body temperature. A core body temperature of 104 F (40 C) or higher, obtained with a rectal thermometer, is the main sign of heatstroke.

Altered mental state or behavior. Confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures and coma can all result from heatstroke.

Alteration in sweating. In heatstroke brought on by hot weather, your skin will feel hot and dry to the touch. However, in heatstroke brought on by strenuous exercise, your skin may feel dry or slightly moist.

Nausea and vomiting. You may feel sick to your stomach or vomit.

Flushed skin. Your skin may turn red as your body temperature increases.

Rapid breathing. Your breathing may become rapid and shallow.

Racing heart rate. Your pulse may significantly increase because heat stress places a tremendous burden on your heart to help cool your body.

Headache. Your head may throb.