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Apple Watch Ultra credited with calling 911 for Las Vegas man after falling unconscious

With World Diabetes Day next week, we continue to learn interesting ways Apple Watch has helped users with diabetes. Las Vegas resident Josh Furman, who credits his Apple Watch Ultra with saving his life, is the latest to share their experience.

While Apple Watch doesn’t yet specialize in features that target diabetic patients, its existing health and safety features are finding ways to come to the rescue. For Furman, it was fall detection calling emergency services that helped save his life after a scary diabetic episode.

In his case, his blood sugar fell low enough that he passed out and fell. While he was unable to clearly communicate with the 911 operator, his watch shared his location with first responders and notified his emergency contact that something had happened. That happened to be his mother, who was able to let paramedics know about his type 1 diabetes.

KSNV shares his story:

“I don’t know how long I was out for, but when I woke up, the Apple Watch had basically called 911, the paramedics,” Furman said. “But I could not talk. I sounded like I had a mouth full of marbles. 911 could not understand me, but they had the GPS from the watch, so they knew where I was.”

He explained that, thankfully, his emergency contacts were set up in his device, and he was able to contact his mother, who was then able to inform the 911 operator about her son’s medical condition. 

“I don’t think people know enough about their Apple Watch to realize what it can actually do with the fall detection (feature),” he said. […]

“If it wasn’t for the features that I use, the blood glucose sensor and all that stuff, I wouldn’t have gotten the watch, and now with the fall detection that honestly saved my life,” Furman said.

Fall detection is just one of the many life-saving features Apple Watch has provided over the years. Heart health alerts have also been commonly cited as saving lives directly or indirectly. In the case of an Oklahoma Apple Watch user, an Afib alert actually led to her diabetes diagnosis. Read the full story and check out the interview from KSNV here.

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Avatar for Zac Hall Zac Hall

Zac covers Apple news, hosts the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and created SpaceExplored.com.

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