"Siri, I've fallen and I can't get up!"
Before
"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" We've seen those ads for years, often telling jokes about them. Truth is, many of us have agonized for a long time about elderly parents or other family members who might find themselves in that situation.
A freak accident happened to me recently that makes me realize the Apple Watch is a possible solution when tragedy strikes.
The day was winding down and on the way to bed I tripped on something sharp that shouldn't have been on the floor. In seconds I was on the floor with what turned out to be a severely broken arm. I had already set my iPhone and Apple Watch on their chargers, leaving me with no way to call for help.
Lying on the floor listening to the Fire Department break down my door I thought how fortunate I was that the neighbor in the adjacent apartment promptly heard my cries for help and quickly called 911. It could easily have gone differently with me stuck for a long while in great pain from the injury.
I wished I was wearing the Apple Watch with the ability to call for help directly. Telling Siri to call 911 would have guaranteed access to emergency help. I found it ironic that this was the very thing I feared when my elderly Mom was alive. My siblings and I had tried for years to settle on a solution like those in the ads that would notify family members and summon help should Mom have fallen.
After help
No solution worked with our Mom given her aversion, even fear of technology. She quickly set aside the phones and other gadgets that we tried to use for her safety and our peace of mind. This is where the Apple Watch could have worked given that it doesn't intimidate most people being "just" a watch. She could have been easily been taught how to get Siri to summon help in emergencies.
Carry it further and a simple app could be employed to do the same thing. As an Apple Watch complication, summoning help could be as simple as tapping the watch face and confirming the action by voice. Help could be on the way and family members would have the peace of mind.
The ability to summon help is so important that I now sleep wearing the Apple Watch. The battery lasts two days in my experience so I charge it every morning once I have the iPhone in hand. Hopefully, I'll never need it to call for help but I feel good with it at hand.