When Laura Germain tickled her twin sister’s foot as she lay in a hospital bed, it flinched. She and her mother hoped the reflex was a sign of life from the usually energetic 23-year-old, now silent in a coma.

Three days earlier, Leanne Germain was at a small house party with friends.

It was Feb 20. She wasn’t drinking but she took half a pill of MDMA—also known as ecstasy or Molly.

Leanne had tried drug a handful of times, but her sister said she wasn’t a regular drug user.

When she started feeling sick that night, Leanne drank water. It's unknown exactly how much water she consumed.

Friends found her unconscious early the next morning and called 9-1-1.

"I just remember yelling, ‘Who dies from drinking water?’" her mother Linda Kyrzyk recalls the moment the doctor told her Leanne was brain dead.

“And he said, ‘The combination of MDMA and the enormous, excessive amount of water she drank swelled her brain and she was gone.’”

Laura Germain and Leanne Germain. (Source: Facebook)

Pharmacist Mike Watts said water intoxication is extremely rare. He said MDMA speeds up your metabolism, spikes your body temperature and makes you extremely thirsty.

How much water is too much water depends on the size of each individual.

“It would be a lot more than your usual eight glasses a day,” Watts said. ”When you drink excessive amounts of water, basically you're diluting the body's salts. And that causes an imbalance, which leads to problems with various organs.”

Kyrzyk is now well-versed in the side effects of MDMA. It’s a subject she wished she never needed to learn, but she wants other parents to understand.

“If someone would’ve known you could die from drinking too much water, maybe someone would’ve called 9-1-1 earlier in the evening,” Kyrzyk said.

The family wants people to be aware how accidents can lead to permanent consequences.

A mother has lost her daughter. Laura Germain has lost her sister and best friend. This December, she will turn 24 without Leanne by her side.

“We don’t get to share our story with her. We just get to share our story for her.”