After merely 15 minutes of walking on a nature trail, Elijah’s strange behavior began to unsettle his caregiver. She called his mom and explained what was happening.
“Something’s not right,” she told her. “He sat down and won’t get back up.”
Rachel’s initial thought was that her son was simply being stubborn, as he could sometimes be. Not wanting to take any risks, however, she hurried to the trail. As soon as she saw Elijah, she knew it was more than him being stubborn: Something was seriously wrong.
Paramedics were soon called to the scene. When they arrived, they measured Elijah’s temperature at 108 and instantly began an effort to cool him down as they rushed him to hospital. He was suffering from heat exhaustion.
“Things looked like they were improving,” his mom said.
Tragically, though, his temperature didn’t drop enough, and Elijah passed away as a result of his heart being damaged.
Now, mom Rachel is aiming to spread a warning over the potential complications of heat exhaustion, in the hope that no more families need be affected by it.
“Drink water, take a break, go inside. This is not a joke, this is not something that happens to other people. This is real and he was 18 and very healthy, so, be cautious,” Rachel said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7xYrbHm230
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Rachel and her family at this most difficult of times. To lose a loved one is always a terrible tragedy, but to do so completely out of the blue, and in such circumstances as Elijah’s passing, must be almost impossible to bear.
Help us spread Rachel’s warning by sharing this article. You could save a life!