Gabe Burdett couldn’t be more thankful for the advances of technology because recently – an Apple Watch saved his dad’s life.

Gabe’s father, Bob Burdett, was mountain biking near their home in Spokane, Washington when he took a nasty fall and hit the ground hard, head-first, knocking him unconscious on the pavement.

Gabe was supposed to be meeting up with his father that day to join him on the mountain biking trails. He was waiting for him at their designated meeting spot at Spokane’s Riverside State Park and became nervous when Bob didn’t show up at the specified time.

Just as Gabe was becoming increasingly anxious about his father’s whereabouts, he received a text on his phone from Bob’s Apple Watch.

As it turned out, Bob’s Apple Watch was keeping close tabs on him – the device detected his hard fall, called 911, and alerted his stored emergency contact, which happened to be Gabe. The text read:

“Emergency SOS Bob Burdett called emergency services from this approximate location after Apple Watch detected a hard fall. You’re receiving this message because Bob has listed you as an emergency contact.”

Not knowing that 911 had already arranged help, Gabe rushed over to the location where the text said his father would be. It wasn’t far from their meeting point but he got there, his dad was nowhere to be found. Gabe became nervous once again but then received a second text.

Thanks to the quick-thinking Apple Watch, emergency responders arrived to assist Bob in less than 30 minutes – he was already on his way to the hospital.

The second text that Gabe received alerted him that his father’s location was changing and he was now at Sacred Heart Medical Center (SHMC). Absolutely amazed that he was basically receiving real-time updates, Gabe called his brother.

“My brother was already driving by the hospital when the second update came in” about their dad’s new location, Gabe wrote in a now-viral Facebook post.

Since Bob was unconscious and had no ability to call for help – the Apple Watch very well could be the reason he’s still alive.

“He didn’t remember flipping his bike and he didn’t remember anything really happening until he was in the ambulance, and even then he was pretty out of it,” Gabe told local news station KREM.

Thankfully, Bob made it to the hospital without any serious injuries. The doctors performed a CT scan and X-ray and found nothing to be of concern – he would just be a bit sore for the next couple of weeks with some cuts, bruises, and a broken screen on his Apple Watch. As for Gabe, he just couldn’t be more grateful that the safety features on the watch worked so well.

Gabe wants to share this story with everyone – especially if you have an Apple Watch – it could possibly save your life.

“If you own an Apple Watch, set up your hard fall detection,” he says. “Amazing technology and so glad he had it!”

Some people think that privacy in this day in age can be violated due to technology and its integration into our daily lives. However, in this case, we can clearly see the positive aspects of technology. What is your opinion on this story and technology in general?

Read the whole Facebook post below.

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https://www.facebook.com/theburdetts/posts/10214583646975103

H/T: NY Post