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An elderly woman suffered third-degree burns after she fell asleep in a metal chair at a community pool in Arizona.
Betty Lou Summer, 82, of San Tan Valley, was enjoying a relaxing hour-long nap in a lounge chair at the Johnson Ranch community pool on June 11 when she suffered from severe sunburn.
Other guests noticed the elderly woman was unconscious and was suffering from a bad sunburn and called for help as temperatures soared to 105F that day.
'The sun basically fried everything,' Summer's daughter, Michelle Gabbert, told Fox 10 Phoenix.
'She lost the tip of her pinky because of the metal lounge chair.'
Summer suffered third-degree burns and heat stroke, which damaged her liver and kidneys, and suffered from septic shock, her daughter said. Her core temperature was also 104F.
'I'm glad they went to go check on her because she would have died otherwise at the pool,' Gabbert told the outlet.
'She was covered in blisters and unresponsive.'
Betty Lou Summer, 82, of San Tan Valley, is currently hospitalized in Arizona after suffering from third-degree burns
The elderly woman has undergone multiple surgeries and skin grafts since she got the burns on June 11
She was rushed to a nearby hospital, before being taken to Valleywise Burn Center, with injuries to her chest, abdomen, and legs.
'They had to put her on the ventilator, a lot of medications to keep her alive and eventually she ended up on dialysis just because of the heat stroke,' Gabbert, who is a doctor, said.
'I never thought I would see something like this in one of my own family members just from being out in the sun for an hour.'
Summer has undergone several surgeries while hospitalized, as well as skin grafts and the removal of damaged skin and tissue.
The mother's arms and legs are also heavily bandaged to help with the healing. She has since stopped dialysis and is no longer on a ventilator, her daughter wrote on GoFundMe.
However, the 82-year-old is expected to remain hospitalized for at least another month, as she has a high risk of infection due to her age, her daughter said.
'The surgeon said her burns are much worse than expected, which means more surgery and time in the hospital,' she wrote on the fundraiser, which has raised nearly $7,000.
She also was temporarily on a ventilator and had to do dialysis after suffering from heat stroke
She was sitting on a metal chair for around an hour at Johnson Ranch community pool
Guests at the pool noticed the older woman was unconscious and called for help. Her internal body temperature was 104F
Her daughter (right) said Summer (left) is still in lots of pain and is expected to be in the hospital for at least another month
'Understandably, she is in a great deal of pain. Burn injuries are one of the worst things anyone can survive, but we already know she is a fighter, and we have faith she will survive this horrendous nightmare.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to the family for comment.
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