Anna Wood

Anna Victoria Wood (27 May 1980 – 24 October 1995) was an Australian teenager who died after consuming an ecstasy tablet at a rave party in inner Sydney. Her cause of death was hypoxic encephalopathy, following acute water intoxication secondary to ingestion of MDMA. Wood's death was covered widely in the news media, produced debate on drug use among adolescents and inspired the memoir Anna's Story (1996) by Bronwyn Donaghy. Events leading up to death Wood had recently left The Forest High School after completing Year 10 to pursue a career in beauty therapy at a salon near her home in Sydney's North Shore. On 21 October 1995, Wood and a group of school friends attended an "Apache" rave dance party at the Phoenician Club on Broadway in Ultimo, in inner-city Sydney. She had told her parents that she was going to a friend's house to have a sleepover. Wood and her friends bought and consumed ecstasy tablets from a female friend outside the club prior to entering. At approximately 5:00a.m. on 22 October, Wood began feeling unwell inside the club and was seen rushing to the toilets, where she was found vomiting. Her friends drove her back to one of their homes in Belrose where she was put to bed. Wood's symptoms showed no signs of improving: there were continued episodes of dry retching, intermittent sleep, confusion and possible convulsion-like movements, followed by a lapse into unconsciousness. At 10:00a.m. Wood's parents were informed, who called for an ambulance and had her taken to the Royal North Shore Hospital in St Leonards. Wood remained in a coma throughout the period and did not regain consciousness; she died on Tuesday, 24 October 1995 after her life support was turned off following the declaration that she was brain dead. Coroner's report The subsequent coroner's report determined that the cause of death was a cerebral edema caused by water intoxication (hyponatraemia) secondary to use of MDMA. Hyponatraemia occurs when excessive fluid consumption dilutes sodium levels in the blood supply, leading to water absorption in the body's cells. Absorption of too much water causes cell swelling, which in the brain can cause irreparable damage as the human skull leaves little room for expansion inside. The brain's functions are also disrupted by cell swelling, resulting in respiratory arrest among other symptoms.