With a life slipping away, the Apple Watch comes to the rescue and summons help
We've seen quite a few examples of how the Apple Watch has saved lives over the years using the heart rate sensor, the fall detection feature, the SP02 blood oxygen scanner, and the ECG reader. A report from CBS News in Philadelphia (via 9to5Mac) reveals how the SOS button on the Apple Watch saved the life of Delaware student Natalie Nasatka. A faulty heater was filling her apartment in Smyrna, Delaware with carbon monoxide. The gas has no odor, no smell, and no taste but kills 400 people a year.
The only way to detect the gas is to monitor how you feel. "I was feeling extremely exhausted," Nasatka said. "My vision was getting blurry." Just before she lost consciousness, she used the SOS slider on her Apple Watch to immediately call 911 giving emergency responders her location. Natalie said, "When I heard the firefighters yell out 'fire department' and they yanked me out of bed, I just started crying and saying 'I want to live. I want to live'."
ER physician Dr. Lynn Farrugia explained why carbon monoxide is so dangerous. She said, "It is a lack of oxygen that affects the body. There are certain things become irreversible, the heart can be damaged. Once the brain has been without oxygen for too long, there can be irreversible symptoms." Early warning symptoms include dizziness, confusion and vomiting.
Using the Emergency SOS feature on the Apple Watch saved Natalie Nasatka's life
Nasatka, who says that she has been "riding waves of emotions" since the incident, also noted that "The carbon monoxide was confirmed because the fire department monitor read 80 parts per million in the apartment, which is extremely high." Even though many states require carbon monoxide detectors to be placed in homes and apartments, there was no detector in Nasatka's apartment. Space heaters are a major cause of carbon monoxide poisoning and with the cold weather upon us, you need to be careful if you use one.
If you own an Apple Watch, you need to memorize these directions on how to activate the Emergency SOS feature on the timepiece:
- Press and hold the side button (under the Digital Crown) on your Apple Watch.
- Drag the Emergency Call slider to make the call immediately. Or you can continue to hold the side button down to set off a countdown. Once the countdown is completed, the emergency call is made.
- When the Apple Watch calls emergency services, the watch will also give your location. Once that call is completed, the watch will text your emergency contacts and give them your location.
If you don't own an Apple Watch but do use an iPhone 8 or later, you can use the Emergency SOS feature by following these directions:
- Press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the Emergency SOS slider appears.
- Drag the Emergency Call slider to call emergency services. If you continue to hold down the side button and volume button, instead of dragging the slider, a countdown begins and an alert sounds. If you release the buttons after the countdown, your iPhone automatically calls emergency services.
If you own an iPhone 7 or earlier, follow these directions:
- Rapidly press the side (or top) button five times. The Emergency Call slider will appear.
- Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.
Hopefully, you'll never need to use this feature.
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