There are lots of reasons for people of all ages to wear smartwatches these days. They like the extra functionality of reading messages on their wrist. They want to keep track of their exercise activities. For some, it’s nothing more than a fashion statement.

But for 18-year-old Deanna Recktenwald, her Apple Watch is truly a lifesaver. When the Hillsborough teen was sitting quietly in The Crossing Church in Brandon, her heart rate had no reason to go above a normal rhythm of 40 to 100 beats per minute.

When her Apple Watch alerted Deanna that her resting heart rate had reached 190 BPM, however, she knew something was wrong.

The alert made her family seek medical attention

Although Deanna’s mother Stacey Recktenwald, a registered nurse, was initially skeptical about the watch’s accuracy, it was soon proved to be correct.

"I was surprised, it was right on," says Stacey. That’s because Deanna’s Apple Watch was telling her to seek medical attention immediately.

"I didn't even know that it had the capability of giving us that alert," claims Stacey

Staff at a walk-in clinic confirmed Deanna’s rapid heartbeat.

After the teen and her family went to get her checked out at a walk-in center, staff there immediately rushed Deanna to the emergency room.

From there, doctors at Tampa General Hospital were able to diagnose Deanna as suffering from chronic kidney disease.

It was a condition that nobody, not even Deanna herself, realized that she had, as she was experiencing no symptoms of this.

So the Recktenwald family all agree that her Apple Watch saved Deanna's life, as her condition would have gone undiagnosed otherwise.

Both of the teen’s kidneys were discovered to be operating at 20% of their normal function. So, despite catching the disease before it caused any immediate damage, Deanna will likely require a Kidney Transplant in the future.

Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted his best wishes

The news came just in time, however, as Deanna was preparing to go to college during the summer. If her condition had progressed unchecked, doctors believe she would have needed a kidney transplant sooner.

Now her mom knows that Deanna can go “off to college and know that she can monitor her HR and seek attention if it alarms her again”.

The story came to prominence after Stacey Recktenwald sent a heartfelt letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, thanking him for his company’s lifesaving input.

Tim Cook replied to Stacey’s email that Deanna’s story “inspires [Apple] to keep pushing”. He later doubled down on his enthusiasm with a tweet that the story encouraged him to “dream bigger and push harder every day”.

It just goes to show, an Apple Watch can do more than just access apps!
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