In March 2006, American alternative rock band The Fray released the classic hit that would become the joint seventh longest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 at 58 weeks:
How to Save a Life.
Essentially a song that depicts the struggles of someone who does not know how to help a friend, How To Save A Life has quickly become one of my number one go-tos every time a friend asks for my help.
“Hey, dude, could you sub in for me for this weekend’s duties?” my platoon mate once pleaded. “My girlfriend’s birthday falls on that day and I can’t miss it for anything in the world.”
In response, I played the song How to Save a Life and looked at him.
“Well, I’ll just have to go in your place then.”
How to Save a Life.
And yet, despite all the ‘positivities’ the song contains, there’s one glaring shortcoming about the lyrics. And that is, despite the song title promising a certain venture, the distinct lack of life-saving tips.
I don’t know how to save a life man. Wt*.
But That’s No Longer A Worry
Because with the Apple Watch, you can now…
Save A Life.
“Wowww,” I imagine The Fray saying in unison. “Pray tell me, how?”
Well, in answer we’ll have to look at the following article headline:
Apple Watch Saves Hikers Who Fell Down Cliff By Calling 911
On 14 October, James Prudenciano, 28, and his partner decided to tackle a challenging mountain trail at Hartshorne Woods Park in Monmouth County. Being “avid hikers”, they didn’t think anything of it.
But when they realised they were lost and the sun was starting to set, they sensed that they were in trouble.
For starters, Mr Prudenciano’s friend had slipped on thorny vines that she was unable to climb back over due to a steep incline. Mr Prudenciano then embarked on a rescue venture, but seeing how the mountain was too steep to either ascend or descend, they spent two hours looking for a way to safety.
Having lost his shoe (that’s some real bad luck there), Mr Prudenciano suggested that they sit and slide down the mountain, as he had been trained before. However, they ended up sliding farther than they originally thought they would, and landed on different parts of a ledge.
“My leg was twisted and I was already hurt. I had a thorn that went through my foot,” Mr Prudenciano said. “I didn’t see much, all I have seen was rocks.”
And then the magical happened. Just as he was figuring out a plausible next move, he heard a sound emerge from his Apple Watch.
“911, what’s your emergency?” it intoned.
And in a twist that seems to belong to some tech-proficient film not titled ‘Gemini Man’, three agencies responded. The stranded hikers were then salvaged by a civilian boater, who offered to assist.
How to save a life? Look no further than the Apple Watch.
It’s so much more than just a watch.
In the aftermath, it was determined that Mr Prudenciano had suffered a fractured back, as well as injuries to his leg and foot. His date, on the other hand, sustained minor injuries.
According to SkyNews, police said they fell around 30ft (nine metres).
Hard Fall Activated Sequence
According to Apple, the Apple Watch Series 4 or later are each able to detect a hard fall, and it will ask the wearer whether they wish to contact emergency services. Should there be no response and the watch detects the person wearing it has been motionless for a minute, the watch will automatically dial emergency services and the person’s emergency contacts, sending a location in the process.
In order to set up the feature, one can open the Apple Watch app, choose My Watch, Emergency Services SOS and then turn Fall Detection on. For those who indicate that their age is 65 or over, Fall Detection’s automatically activated.
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Incidentally, Mr Prudenciano had recently bought the watch, and had been playing with the settings. Apparently, that’s when he decided to turn on the Fall Detection feature.
Well, thank goodness he was playing with it, because it could well have saved two lives.
And so, on an ending note, please do get an Apple watch the next time you go somewhere dangerous, like the infamous Redhill or Bukit Timah Hill for example. It might well save your life.
P.s. Maybe SAF can consider giving each NSman (NSF don’t need lah) one Apple watch each. All for safety reasons. Don’t just paste banners and talk; do something mah, right?
