Irene is retired, she loves to work in her garden. Because she has always spent hours outside, she thinks the heat and humidity of Midwestern summers don’t bother her. Then last year an unusual heat wave hit her area. Five days into the heat wave, her daughter Kim came over because Irene sounded confused on the phone. Kim found her mom passed out on the kitchen floor. Irene’s one large fan wasn’t enough to fight the effect of the heat and humidity on her body. The ambulance came quickly when called, but Irene almost died. She had heat stroke, the most serious form of hyperthermia.