Published on October 21st, 2022 📆 | 8367 Views ⚑
0How Wearable Technology Saved One Local Girl’s Life
For 12-year-old Imani Miles, her Apple Watch is more than just an accessory. It is what she says saved her life.
It was nighttime when Imaniâs mom, Jessica Kitchen of Flushing, noticed the constant beeps from her daughterâs Apple Watch, alerting Imani to an abnormally high heart rate.
âThatâs really weird because itâs never happened before,â Kitchen says. âIt just kept going off.â
Concerned, Kitchen took her daughter to the hospital, where doctors removed Imaniâs appendix as treatment for appendicitis. It was then that they learned of a neuroendocrine tumor on her appendix, very rarely seen in children.
âIf [the watch] didnât go off, I probably would have just waited and taken her in the next couple of days,â Kitchen says.
By the time doctors discovered Imaniâs tumor, the cancer had already spread to other parts of her body, requiring her to undergo surgery to remove it.
âWearables play a crucial role in supporting people to build better health behaviors,â says JoaĚo Bocas, aka The Wearables Expert, one of the worldâs top thought leaders in wearable tech. âWearables on their own will not be a miracle, but with the combination of human effort they can improve well-being.â
As of 2019, wearable tech has grown into a $1 billion business, according to The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. Kitchen says her initial feeling was one of gratitude that the watch had alerted her to Imaniâs condition before it was too late.
âIf she didnât have that watch, it could have been so much worse,â Kitchen says.
Imaniâs surgery at C.S. Mott Childrenâs Hospital was successful, and she at press time was recovering at home. She wears her Apple Watch every day, and she and her mother now spread the word about the benefits of wearable technology.
This story is from the Moving Medicine Forward feature in the October 2022 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. Read more in our digital edition.
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