Apple Watch Keeps Saving Lives | Users Thank CEO Tim Cook and He Responds

It’s not unusual for Apple CEO Tim Cook to receive appreciative emails and letters from Apple users. However, he doesn’t usually reply. That said, two Apple Watch users who emailed Cook recently to thank him for the Apple Watch saving their lives did indeed receive a response back from him in just a few hours.

The First Email Response from Tim Cook

Wichita, Kansas ABC affiliate KAKE reports that Wichita resident Michael Gallegos had received a new Apple Watch from his son Nick as a gift.

One night, while Micheal slept, his Apple Watch detected an irregular heart rhythm. Luckily, Family Sharing was enabled, causing son Nick to also receive the irregular heart notification from his dad’s Apple Watch.

“I think if I recall the notification said that his heart was below 40 beats per minute for over ten minutes,” Nick recounts.

Nick immediately contacted his father, urging him to seek medical attention. Nick then rushed his dad to the emergency room, where a previously undiagnosed heart condition was detected. Doctors performed surgery on Michael, implanting a pacemaker.

As Michel was recovering from his operation, Nick sent an email to Tim Cook, which he said he sent sometime around 12:30 p.m. Surprisingly, Cook personally replied by 2 p.m. that same day!

“I’m glad your father sought medical attention and received the treatment he needed. Thanks so much for sharing his story with us. Please give him my best,” wrote CEO Cook.

Nick described the response from Cook as “just amazing. It’s just crazy to see that.”

Doctors told Michael he would have died soon without getting a pacemaker. Now, he says he feels like a new man. He described it as someone flipped a switch, and now “I’ve got more moves than the Energizer Bunny I think.”

Michael also joked about the battery life on his watch, saying that while it’s good, it doesn’t compare to his pacemaker battery, which is projected to have about 12 years of life.

The Second Email Response from Cook

Meanwhile, ABC 13 reports that Professor Christopher Oakley of Asheville, North Carolina, also sent an email to Cook to express thanks for how the Apple Watch saved his life by warning him about an accelerated heartbeat.

Oakley told Cook about an August 2021 incident. Oakley had been working in his yard, then went on to clean his bathroom.

“I remember standing here (the bathroom) looking at this thing of Marilyn Monroe on the wall and I remember looking at that and going, ‘Why am I feeling nauseous?’ and the next thing I know, I went down over here and hit this on the way down and was jammed into this little alcove,” Oakley said.

Oakley was able to get up, but he felt his heart racing like he had “just run a marathon.” Oakley says he rested for a bit and then headed to his bedroom, where he said he “either fell asleep or passed out.” He went on to say, “I don’t remember. I just remember waking up in the morning and it was still racing.”

Oakley’s husband then rushed him to the emergency room, only to find that his heart had slowed down by the time a doctor was available to examine him.

At first, doctors told Oakley to head back home. However, when Oakley shared that he wears an Apple Watch and that it had notified him that his heart had raced between 121 and 151 beats per minute all during the night, doctors changed their tune.

The doctors detected that Oakley had had a heart attack and performed a double bypass on him a few days later.

Ever since that incident, Oakley says he has been “evangelizing” about the Apple Watch, singing the device’s praises. Two years later, Oakley decided to email Tim Cook about the incident to thank him for the Apple Watch.

“I just really appreciate all the work you and your folks have put into this in order to create a product that not only tells you the time but also saves your life,” wrote Oakley.

Cook emailed back three hours later, telling Oakley, “We’re just happy you’re doing well.”