It began with a text message, the kind that instantly triggers dread:
Mom: “Can u talk?”
Me: “In like an hour. Currently in clinic. Is everything ok?”
Mom: “No.”
Panic set in, and I immediately called my mom back, bracing for bad news. My dad, she explained, had suffered a severe stroke. He had been exercising on their elliptical when he collapsed, unable to speak or move his right side. My mom was home but hadn’t heard him fall, likely meaning he could have remained undiscovered for an hour or more – time that could have been fatal.
However, someone – or rather, something – noticed my dad’s fall, texted him to check if he was alright, and when there was no response, promptly called 911. This silent guardian, his watch, may be the single reason my dad is alive today.
My father had recently received an Apple Watch as a retirement present. While he doesn’t wear it constantly, thankfully, he had it on that day. The moment my dad fell, his Apple Watch recognized something was wrong. It immediately sent a text message to his wrist, asking if he was okay.
After a minute passed without a response, the watch took decisive action, automatically calling 911. Within approximately 15 minutes, a police officer was at my parents’ doorstep. My mother answered the door, surprised.
“Is your husband there?” the officer inquired.
“Yes, he is upstairs exercising,” my mom replied.
“Please go check on him. We have reason to believe that he may have fallen,” the officer stated.
My mom rushed upstairs, a chilling thought racing through her mind: “What if my husband fell and I had no idea?”
She found my dad on the floor next to the elliptical, exactly as the officer had feared. He was unable to speak or move. He was immediately rushed to the hospital and assessed with a NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 21. This score is a critical indicator of stroke severity, evaluating factors like language ability, motor function, sensory loss, consciousness level, and vision. An NIHSS score above 22 carries an 80% chance of a poor outcome, including death, while a score of 6 or less suggests a strong likelihood of good recovery. Critically, each point increase on the NIHSS scale reduces the chance of a positive outcome by about 17%, according to research published in Neurology.
In the emergency room, a CT angiogram (CTA) was performed, a vital imaging technique to detect blockages in brain blood vessels. The scan revealed a complete blockage of my dad’s left middle cerebral artery (MCA) by a large blood clot, likely originating from his heart. The MCA is the brain’s largest artery on the left side, supplying blood to areas controlling speech and right-side body movement. Without blood flow for even a short period – often just hours – brain cells in this region die, leading to permanent damage or death.
Knowing the urgency, I understood my dad’s prognosis was grim. During my neurology training, I learned that clots causing complete blockages must be dissolved or removed within a narrow three-to-four-hour window to avert irreversible brain damage. Every minute was critical, meaning more brain tissue was dying. At that moment, the elapsed time since my dad’s fall was unknown, but the situation looked dire.
In a stroke of incredible fortune, the neurology team at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida, was able to perform an emergency thrombectomy. This procedure physically removes the clot from the brain. Remarkably, the thrombectomy occurred roughly two hours after his fall – just within the window for potential full neurological recovery. However, the extent of the damage remained uncertain.
Incredibly, about an hour post-thrombectomy, my dad started speaking again. Within two hours, he could move his right arm and leg and remember who and where he was. Apart from persistent hiccups and some weakness, he was essentially back to normal – all thanks to his Apple Watch’s automatic 911 call.
Mark Lieber with his father, whose life was potentially saved by the fall detection feature and automatic 911 call of his Apple Watch.
Before this life-altering event, I was unaware that Apple Watches possessed the ability to detect falls and strokes, let alone contact emergency services like 911. A little research revealed that fall detection technology was first introduced in 2018 with the Apple Watch Series 4. This technology utilizes an accelerometer and gyroscope to monitor daily activities and recognize falling motions. Fitness apps already use this data for activity level feedback. If a fall is detected, the Apple Watch first sends a text message to confirm the user’s well-being. If no activity or response is detected within 60 seconds, the watch automatically dials emergency services and transmits the user’s location – a feature that proved critical in my father’s case, highlighting Where To Watch 911 response in action, even if indirectly triggered by technology.
While this technology has faced some criticism, such as a study indicating that fall detection may only identify about 80% of falls, its effectiveness in the 80% of successful cases is undeniable. For families like mine, where it worked flawlessly, these criticisms become secondary to the profound impact of a life saved.
Curious about the broader impact, I searched online to see how many others had been affected by this technology. A CNET article from September 2020 detailed four stories of lives arguably saved by the Apple Watch: one fall victim, a car crash victim whose watch called 911, and two individuals alerted to irregular heart rhythms. More recently, another man was rescued after his Apple Watch called 911 when he fell into an icy river. However, my dad’s case might be the first documented instance of someone saved from a stroke thanks to this technology.
I reached out to Apple to share our story. I was amazed to receive a personal reply from Apple CEO Tim Cook:
“Mark, Thanks for sharing your dad’s story with us. I’m so glad he is OK now. I receive quite a few stories like your dad’s, and we are so happy this feature is helping people. Be well. Thanks again for your note — it inspires us to keep pushing forward. Best, Tim”.
The experience has transformed my perspective on wearable technology. Beyond fitness tracking, smartwatches like the Apple Watch are emerging as potentially life-saving devices, acting as vigilant guardians capable of summoning help when it’s needed most. My family is eternally grateful for this technology and the rapid 911 response it triggered, giving my dad a second chance at life.
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