How an Apple Watch Saved This Teen's Life—and Got Him an Internship With Apple

The watch's heart rate monitor alerted the teen that something was wrong.

Photo Removed
Complex Original

Blank pixel used during image takedowns

Photo Removed

A 17-year-old high school student from Cape Cod, Mass. is alive today thanks to his Apple watch.

Paul Houle was at football practice when he started having pain in his back and chest. A quick glimpse at hiswatch's heart monitor revealed that his resting heart rate was at 145 beats per minute, which was unusually high for the teen, reports WCVB.

Houle went home to take a nap, but realized his heart rate was still high. He later went to the emergency room, where doctors discovered that he had heart, liver, and kidney damage, due to rhabdomyolysis resulting from extreme exercise. The condition causes the muscle cells to release toxic enzymes and proteins, which could have been potentially fatal. 

The inspiring story quickly got the attention of Apple CEO Tim Cook. He ended up calling the teen to offer him a new iPhone and a coveted summer internship with the company. We can only imagine how happy Houle's dad is that he gave in to buying his son that watch.

Latest in Style