Apple Watch Is the New Life Alert
By: Britt C
Tags: Disability, Apple Watch, Gadgets, Technology, Apple

Apple Watch Is the New Life Alert

I have a confession: I shower with my Apple Watch

Photo: Simon Daoudi/Unsplash

I am a die-hard Apple fan. I’ve loved the company since I got my first iPod Nano when I was 10 years old. As a person with cerebral palsy, I found that Apple solved a pain point for me that I don’t even think the company knew existed. Before I had an iPod Nano, I carried around two little books of CDs containing multiple copies of the same CD. Because I walk with a limp, my CDs would always get scratched and start skipping. I was an anxious and socially awkward kid; I never went anywhere without my music. The iPod made it so that my CDs were never scratched and my music never skipped again.

Granted, I never bought another CD again.

Fast-forward a few years, and my mother, not knowing what to get me for Christmas, gifted me an Apple Watch, the first generation. I admit that at the time of receiving this gift, I didn’t want an Apple Watch. Back then, it was just an extension of your iPhone, and I already had one of those. But I appreciate what I am given and was excited to see how it could work for me.

That first year, I didn’t have a whole lot to gain. I was a college student, so I loved having a watch, especially one that could alert me of important things like classes and assignments. I also used it to easily set timers without having to carry my phone everywhere.

But I was in a wheelchair, so all those fancy fitness features didn’t work for me. I felt left out by Apple for the first time ever.

My Apple Watch sat in a drawer. One day, it wouldn’t turn on. (I’m not really sure why this happened, but if I had to guess, my cockatiel, Buddy, had everything to do with it.)

Two years ago, I gifted myself a new Apple Watch. I got myself a Series 3. Its main appeal? It was water- and splash-proof, and I wanted to see just how many calories I was burning during pool therapy. The nylon Sport Loop band fastens with what Apple calls a hook-and-loop fastener but what everyone else calls Velcro loop. It’s much easier for me to take on and off compared to the original band.

Apple did not disappoint. I have found countless ways to use my Apple Watch the longer I own it.

Today, the Apple Watch is key to helping me get active and stay active. I’m very competitive with myself, so I want to close those rings every day. But it isn’t always so simple.

Two years ago, some home modifications went sour, and as the battle to fix that work rages on, I have been left unable to shower independently in my home. I’ve been able to shower only if someone else is home, in case I fall.

For the past several months, I have been showering with my Apple Watch. It’s given me the peace of mind that I am able to call for help if I should fall. It’s given me independence back.

Today, it finally happened: I fell in the shower. After spending a few minutes trying to get myself up and reassuring myself that there was no need to panic, I called my mother from my wrist, and she was able to come and help me. I knew that if I wasn’t able to call someone I knew, I could call 911 from my watch as well.

Luckily, I wasn’t hurt, but a million thoughts went through my mind: “People die like this—fallen, alone, and unable to get up. People get burned like this. What if I had fallen differently and been unconscious? Who would have known I was there? How long would it have been until someone found me?”

After cleaning myself up and brushing off my ego, I decided right then and there on my shower floor that I would trade in my Series 3 for the Apple Watch SE. These latest Apple Watch models have fall detection, which means that my watch will sound an alarm and display an alert if the sensors think I’ve fallen down and am unable to get up. My watch then lets me choose to either notify emergency services or press the digital crown on the side of the watch and tap “I’m OK.”

Today, my Apple Watch kept me safe and enabled me to get help.

It started with pool therapy, but it turned into my lifeline.