LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas man with Type 1 diabetes is crediting his Apple Watch for saving his life after his blood sugar dropped while he was sleeping, causing him to fall out of bed. It called 911 and notified his emergency contacts.
“It was the scariest experience I've ever had honestly,” said Josh Furman.
Furman was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes before he turned one.
He’s been managing the disease for 40 years but said what happened in April had never happened before.
“I tried to get up. Grabbed the night table, but I think I might have grabbed the lamp and the lamp came down with me and crushed the night shade, and I, obviously, didn't have anything steady to hold on to and I obviously fell with the lamp on top of me,” he said.
The watch detected a hard fall.
Since he didn’t respond to its alarms, it then called 911 and notified his emergency contacts, including his mom.
“My mom's the one who had to speak to 911 because I was incoherent. I was trying to talk, but I sounded like I had a mouthful of marbles,” said Furman. “Then I called his neighbor, and I stayed on the phone with his neighbor until the paramedics had gotten him,” said his mom, Erica Furman.
Eventually, he received the help he needed.
Several months later, he’s back to his more normal self. However, with November 14 marking World Diabetes Day, his story provides an opportunity to bring more awareness to the disease.
Diabetes occurs when your body doesn’t have the insulin it needs to control blood sugar levels.
The Furmans want those who may be less familiar with diabetes to get educated about it. They also want people to understand how difficult it can be to manage, especially some of the severe cases.
“It's a 24/7 disease and they're living with it constantly and you have to have empathy with that,” said Josh’s dad, Gil Furman.
As for Josh, he’d love to see insurance companies cover service dogs who can alert their owner if their blood sugar starts to drop or gets too high.
“People who are on disability or don't make a lot of money, they can't come up with that. I'm in the process of trying to get one, but that last $2500 is what's preventing me from doing it,” he said.
For now, he’s grateful he had the watch.
