By <https://9to5mac.com/author/filipeesposito/> Filipe Espósito at:
https://9to5mac.com/2021/08/24/apple-watch-saves-mans-life-after-he-fainted-
and-hit-his-head-on-the-floor/
From time to time we hear about people who have had their lives saved thanks
to the Apple Watch, and recently this happened to Dan Pfau after he fainted
and hit his head hard on the floor.
The story comes from the
<https://9to5mac.com/2021/08/07/man-credits-apple-watch-fall-detection-featu
re-with-saving-his-life/> Boston Globe, which talked to Pfau after the
accident. At the age of 70, this is not the first time the retired
administrative consultant has been saved thanks to his Apple Watch.
Two years ago, Pfau was rescued from a bicycle accident after his Apple
Watch called 911. He mentions that at the time he woke up in an ambulance
without remembering how he had gotten there. Pfau doesnt even recall
phoning 911, because he didnt. The watch did, says the report in reference
to the fall detection feature introduced with Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018.
This time, however, the incident faced by Pfau was even scarier. Due to
his history of sudden fainting spells, he ended up hitting his head on the
hardwood floor and started bleeding significantly. As he felt pain and was
unable to move, he quickly used the dictation feature on Apple Watch to call
his wife, who was luckily home at the time.
His Apple Watch didnt dial 911 this time, because Pfau, still conscious,
tapped an icon on the watch screen to indicate he was OK. I assumed it was
not that serious, which is my natural reaction, he said. But when he
realized that he wasnt OK after all, Pfau launched the watchs texting app,
tapped the microphone icon, and dictated a message to his wife, who was
downstairs.
Although the situation was quite serious, Pfau was once again quickly taken
to a hospital because he was wearing an Apple Watch.
It took nine stitches to close the cut on Pfaus forehead, but the pain in
his neck sentenced him to four days in intensive care it was a fractured
vertebrae. The doctors said I was extremely lucky not to have paralysis,
he said. Pfau wound up at Mass. General after another helicopter ride. My
wife cracked that I was trying to rack up helicopter frequent flyer miles,
he said.
Boston Globe also spoke with Brad Weiner, one of the doctors who attended
Pfau in the hospital. The doctor confirmed that this is not the first time
one of his patients has been saved thanks to a smart watch, mentioning
another recent case in which the Apple Watch correctly notified a patient to
atrial fibrillation detected by the ECG app.
Earlier this month, another man reported that
<https://9to5mac.com/2021/08/07/man-credits-apple-watch-fall-detection-featu
re-with-saving-his-life/> he was also able to call for help after a car
accident using Siri on the Apple Watch. Stories like this have become
increasingly common since the introduction of Apples smart watch in 2015.
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