Everything went wrong on the path of Robert Ness.
On Friday after a holiday in the south, Nordea’s chief investment officer, Robert Ness, was ready to get to work again. Maybe a little too ready.
During a run outside Bergen, Ness slid on a curve, landing chest-straight right on the edge of the wall. Several ribs cracked, and one lung collapsed, he told VG.
– I was on vacation, so I had extra motivation to run. I was keen to run fast that day, the 59-year-old tells VG.
Collapsed lungs and broken ribs
The ride started at seven in the morning, and just minutes later he was lying on the ground.
– It was so painful, I was having shortness of breath, and I soon realized I had collapsed lungs, because I had had this for a few years, says Ness.
He is an avid runner, and has run this particular trail many times. However, an error occurred.
As a result of breathing problems and severe pain, Ness was unable to get his mobile phone out to call an ambulance. But on his arm is an Apple Watch.
It should automatically detect if you’ve fallen, and will start beeping if the crash isn’t over. After a while, he notifies the emergency services.
– I didn’t wait for it to ring, I immediately pressed the side button and it started ringing. I may have missed the call, because after a while it gets connected automatically, but I called anyway.
continued:
– I also listened to podcasts, so I got audio directly into my airpods. I got in touch with them quickly.
save life
Lying on the ground for more than 15 minutes, Ness witnessed several cars pass by without assistance. He says that he himself was not able to take out his mobile phone to call himself.
– The watch saved my life. I didn’t get a chance to move, it was awkward. Several cars passed by without asking. Of course, it is possible that no one will see me. There were over 100 cars driving past, but it was hard to see me. It wasn’t easy to stop there either.
15 minutes after Næss called the emergency services, they were at the scene. Then go directly to Hawkland Hospital.
– I think I was first in the trauma unit. They checked everything. There they confirmed a collapsed lung, and found broken ribs, as well as various abrasions on the face and legs.
Ness says it would have been awkward without the watch. The lungs are keeping the heart in place, and it was imperative that he get help quickly.
When VG spoke to him on Friday night, things were on the mend.
– I have now been given painkillers, so now I feel very good. I met many nice and smart people in the hospital who helped me a lot.
This is not the first time such a story has been written in the media. In 2019, a man fell on the bathroom floor, and the smartwatch alerted emergency services.
At the same time, the other direction also goes. In 2018, a smart watch triggered a helicopter false alarm.
“Have people with a personal emergency transmitter familiarized with using this to avoid unnecessary use of rescue resources,” HRS Sør-Norge wrote on Twitter at the time.
Ness goes on to say that he will be more careful on the aforementioned turn next time around. First he has to get better.
VG has been in contact with both AMK and Oslo University Hospital to see if such incidents are common. Neither the hospital nor AMK could respond to this over the weekend.
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