Heat Safety & Prep

After Daughter Gets Heat Stroke During Nap in Hot Room, Canada Mom Warns Fellow Parents of Dangers

Jennifer Abma's daughter, Anastasia, is seen in this picture taken after paramedics arrived to treat her on July 13, 2017.
(Instagram/goalcrushinmama)

At a Glance

A 2-year-old girl in Edmonton, Canada, suffered a heat stroke while napping on July 13.
Jennifer Abma, the girl's mother, discovered her in the room that had risen to 122 degrees.
Abma shared her story on Instagram in hopes that it would prevent a similar situation from occurring to another family.

Jennifer Abma thought she'd lost her 2-year-old daughter when she went in to check on the little girl and couldn't get her to wake up.

The 23-year-old mother of two noticed her daughter, Anastasia, wasn't responsive when she tried to wake the girl in her bedroom at their Edmonton, Canada, home. The dwelling didn't have air conditioning because temperatures rarely rise above 80 degrees in that part of the country, but on July 13, a hot day left the room sweltering, and Anastasia was suffering from a heat stroke, according to Global News Canada.

"I felt like my heart had been stepped on and I was sure she was dead. My whole world crumbled," Abma told Global News Canada. "I was shocked to learn she could get heat stroke just from being in her bedroom."

Abma is pictured with Anastasia (left) and daughter Ariel, 1.
(Instagram/goalcrushinmama)

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Temperatures in the room had risen to a stifling 122 degrees while the little girl, who has since turned 3, took her nap, Today.com reported. Anastasia had been sleeping in the room for an hour and a half – long enough for the dangerous conditions to take their toll.

Abma told CBS News she immediately called paramedics, who gave Anastasia sugar and cooled off her skin until she woke up. She received medical attention just in time and might have suffered permanent damage had she gone untreated much longer, Abma said.

As the paramedics stabilized Anastasia, they encouraged her to take a picture of the little girl and share the story on social media as a warning to other parents, which she did. In an Instagram post, Abma said she hopes the scary experience serves as a lesson to others that a house can heat up as quickly as a car on a hot summer day.

"I had no clue how hot it was in there, being our first summer here and no other room in my house was even near that temperature," Abma told Global News Canada. "If I didn't share and it happened to another child, I would blame myself knowing that if I had put my pride aside and share, it could save others."

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