Seventeen year old Paul Houle Jr. is alive today thanks to his Apple Watch; at 8:00 AM the teenager felt fine, twelve hours later he was in a hospital bed with his liver and kidneys shutting down. Paul, Massachusetts’ all-star high school football player came off the practice field complaining of strange back pain and shortness of breath. He says his heart was beating extremely fast and felt like it was going to come out of his chest; however, instead of attending the issue, he just took a nap and thought he would feel better. When he woke up his Apple Watch gave him a vital clue, his heart rate was elevated running at about 145 beats per second that is 60 to 80 beats higher than normal.
The minor was rushed to the hospital where doctors saved his life. Paul, his family, and his doctors all say he is alive today all thanks to the Heart Rate Monitor Feature on his Apple Watch. He was later officially diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis, a condition characterized by the release of muscle into the blood stream, which can cause severe kidney damage. Houle said “I was so dehydrated that my muscles started to actually break down and release a protein that is sort of toxic into my blood stream which caused my heart, my liver and my kidneys all to shut down.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook heard about Paul’s story and contacted the teenager. Tim offered him a new IPhone (probably the IPhone 6s, which comes out later this month) and the opportunity to do an internship with apple whenever he wants. After all, the incident worked to Paul’s advantage because now he knows his condition, so he will be more careful in the field, is going to get the latest IPhone for free, and has an internship of a lifetime waiting for him.