A 57-year-old man says his Apple Watch saved his life after he collapsed during a workout — and the whole moment was caught on video.
Derick Gant, a fitness enthusiast from Toledo, Ohio, suffered a stroke while jump roping on July 23, 2024. The incident happened just moments after he hit a new personal goal — and his Apple Watch was the unlikely hero.
Gant, who had been pushing himself that day, said he was determined to beat his previous best time.
"I had decided that I was going to jump longer than I ever had without missing a beat," Gant told WTOL 11.
“I actually did it. I went about 1 minute and 15 seconds,” he added, recalling the workout high before everything went horribly wrong.
Seconds later, his body gave out. A camera was rolling during the session, capturing the moment Gant collapsed to the ground.
“I was laying there, not really knowing what was going on,” he said. “I couldn’t really move my left leg or my left arm.”
That’s when his Apple Watch kicked in.
The device detected his fall and instantly flashed an alert, checking if he needed emergency help.
Gant recalled: "It says, 'It looks like you're in trouble. Do you need some help?' And I looked at it and I go, 'I'm gonna be fine in a couple of minutes."
However, still dazed, Gant realized that something was seriously wrong and decided to take up his Apple Watch on the offer for help.
“I tapped the watch and said, ‘Yes, I need some help,’ and the watch called all of my emergency contacts. It called 911," he said.
The emergency services arrived quickly, thanks to the alert from his smartwatch.
Gant had suffered a stroke. "I didn't think it would happen to me, of course, but it was my fault," he said, revealing that he had recently come off his blood thinners - resulting in a potentially fatal blood clot that went to his brain.
Thankfully, as a result of Gant's active lifestyle, he had already recovered 90% in the first 24 hours following the stroke.
Dr. Mohammad Juma - Gant's neurologist - told WTOL 11 revealed how advancing technology is helping to save more and more of his patients.
"In the last couple of years, we have a lot of patients coming to us through acitivation of their Apple Watch or activation of their home device. So that's a very positive change in the sense that you can actually recognize symptoms very early and call 911 where, you know, with this disease, every minute matters," Dr. Juma said.
Gant has since made a full recovery and credits the Apple Watch for playing a crucial role in getting him the urgent help he needed - but he also urges others to make sure they are looking after themselves in the right way, so that they also have a better chance of survival should the worst occur.
After Gant's story was shared on social media, many X users shared their responses to his remarkable survival.
"This is one reason why I always wear my Apple Watch. Glad to see it continue to save lives," one person tweeted.
Another added: "That is absolutely amazing. I didn’t even know they did that."