A mum from the US has shared the terrifying moment she realised her daughter had severe heatstroke – without having been in the sun.

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Jessica Abma’s little daughter Anastasia went up to her room in the family home for a nap - and when her mum went in to check on her, she realised that was bright red, covered in sweat and that she couldn’t get her up.

She tried to wake her for another 20 minutes before an ambulance arrived – which is when she was told by investigators Anastasia actually had heatstroke.

In Jessica’s own words:

“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.

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“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 than 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 thy 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. ❤️?? #iloveyou #summertime #heatstroke #reality”

What we think

While it’s not normally so hot here in the UK as it is in the US, we have seen temperatures soar lately.

And we’re sure a fair few of us will be heading off on sunny summer hols in the near future, right?

So we think this message – to check on the temp of your little one’s room – couldn’t have come at a better time.

The NHS website notes that children generally show the same symptoms as adults when they’ve got heatstroke – but they can also become sleepy or ‘floppy’.

And we hope you won’t ever need it, but just in case, first aid for someone you think has heatstroke involves cooling them, removing unnecessary clothes, giving them lots of water, and lying them down with their feet raised slightly.

Thanks Jessica for sharing your story to raise awareness – we hope Anastasia’s doing OK ?

Images: Facebook/Jessica Abma

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