So far, we’ve heard multiple accounts of people saying that Apple Watch’s built-in health and safety tech has helped them in some way or another. The most credited feature of the wearable is the fall detection that it has, and now, AppleInsider reports about yet another person who Apple Watch helped, and actually lead to them getting a cancer diagnosis before it gets too late.
An elderly woman falls and gets an ambulance called by Apple Watch
We are hearing more and more stories about people that got saved by their Apple Watch from something severe happening to them. The latest story on the topic is about Raylene Hackenwerth of Saint Petersburg, Florida. It seems she fell hard and was almost unconscious but Apple Watch’s fall detection system called 911 for her.
WFTS reported on the issue, and according to the report, one of the paramedics said that a call from a wearable is unique. The Apple Watch basically sent its geolocation to 911, giving paramedics info on where to go. When she was taken to the hospital, doctors noticed a mass in her lungs, and it turned out to be lung cancer. The lady is now awaiting treatment for it.
She stated that if the Apple Watch didn’t call the ambulance, she wouldn’t know she had cancer now and by the time she noticed it, it would have been too late. The wearable was gifted to her by her son at Christmas for her to track her workout, and the family didn’t know it had a fall detection feature that is enabled by default if the user is older than 65 years old.
So far, fall detection on the Apple Watch is proving to be a life-saving hero
Apple Watch fall detection is off by default if you’re younger
As we already mentioned, this latest accident is far from the first time we hear about Apple Watch saving a life, and especially its fall detection feature. But this is not the only feature on the wearable that has helped people. Recently, we reported on another similar case in which the Apple Watch was able to detect symptoms of an illness months before an actual diagnosis.
Last month, TikTok user Lauren urged people to turn on notifications on their Apple Watches because of what happened to her. She stated that if only she had notifications on, she would have been alerted when a sudden decline in her health had appeared in the Apple Watch’s graphs.
She ended up getting diagnosed with a thyroid condition, but not before she had symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, sensitivity to heat, weight gain, and dry skin, which had her seek medical attention and get answers.
Apparently, the Apple Watch was able to detect changes in her heart rate and a drop in her oxygen consumption, and together with the other health issues she was having, could have led to an earlier diagnosis for her, before the symptoms got severe.
Of course, as you may probably know, the Apple Watch is definitely not a medical accessory and you can’t count on it to warn you if you’re getting sick. It can prove helpful mostly for people like Mrs. Hackenwerth.
Other stories about the Apple Watch and its features helping people have also been in the headlines in the past few months. Most of them, as we said above, come from the fall detection feature doing its job. One such example is a Texas woman who fell in her hotel and passed out, then the Watch called emergency services. Another time, the Apple Watch saved a 78-year-old man from a life-threatening fall.
If you’re 65 and above, the fall detection feature on your Apple Watch should be on by default. If you’re younger, you can set it up from the Apple Watch app on your iPhone > My Watch > Emergency SOS > Turn Fall Detection on.
