In today’s ever-changing – and downright weird – world, you’d be correct to say say (if not over-say) that technology is slowly killing us.

But not in this case!

Good Morning America reported last month an interesting story about 18-year Deanna Recktenwald who had a major health crisis averted, thanks to her Apple Watch!

According to GMA, Deanna was in church when her trusty Apple Watched chimed with an unusual notification: Her resting heart rate had skyrocketed to 160 beats per minute!

According to the American Heart Association, your heart rate is normally between 60 (beats per minute) and 100 (beats per minute).

So 160 beats per minute at church was definitely abnormal!

“The only symptom that I had was that I was out of breath from walking and standing and sitting so it kind of didn’t make much sense,” said Deanna. 

Luckily, Deanna’s mother is a nurse (yay nurses!) and rushed her to an urgent care – which in turn became a trip to the emergency room!

There she was told she had kidney failure and was admitted to the hospital for three days. It is likely she will need a kidney transplant in a few years.

As bad news as that was – if it wasn’t for the Apple Watch’s notification, who knows when she would have known she had kidney issues; perhaps when it would have been to late.

“I am forever grateful to Apple for developing such an amazing lifesaving product,” Deanna’s mother Stacey said in an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook. “If it wasn’t for her Apple watch alarming her about her HR we wouldn’t have discovered her kidney issue. I honestly feel that your Apple Watch has saved my daughter’s life.”

And Tim Cook even tweeted out a response!

“Stories like Deanna’s inspire us to dream bigger and push harder every day”

We can all relate to health scares like that – but it’s even starker for those in the rare disease community, where time sometimes isn’t a luxury. So whether you or someone you know has been diagnosed with Alport syndrome, amyloidosis, or something else – this story is a good reminder to remember to get regular check ups and to be an active advocate in your own health!

Read all about the story here and click above for a video of the story!

Do you have a rare disease? Share your stories, thoughts, and hopes with the Patient Worthy community!