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    Man's life saved thanks to a game of Words With Friends

    By Trevor Mogg | Digital Trends – Thu, Jan 12, 2012

    Words With Friends, the Scrabble-like word game played on smartphones by millions of people around the world, may get famous actors thrown off planes, but the good news is that it also saves lives.

    By that we don’t mean it’s been updated with a medical alert system connected to the local hospital, although perhaps that wouldn’t be such a bad idea—Zynga’s popular word game can get the heart racing from time to time.

    The life-saving story we’re referring to came about thanks to the Words With Friends feature that randomly matches up players around the world in search of an opponent.

    Beth Legler, who lives in Blue Springs, Missouri met Georgie and Simon Fletcher from Australia while playing the game on her mobile phone.

    They often played the word game against each other, and also used the game’s chat facility, which allows users to get to know each other.

    During a Words With Friends session late last year, Georgie mentioned to Beth that husband Simon was feeling rather under the weather and described some of his symptoms. Fortunately for Simon, Beth’s husband Larry happens to be a doctor, and when Beth relayed Georgie’s message, Larry had only one thing to say—get to a hospital, quick.

    When Simon was checked out, doctors found he had a 99 percent blockage close to his heart. Had Simon left it any longer before seeking medical help, it’s more than likely he wouldn’t be here today.

    The two couples have never met in person though they believe they’ll be friends for life after all that’s happened.

    Talking about the incident, Beth said, “Had Larry not sent that message I don’t think Simon would have gone to the doctor that day.”

    “I owe Larry everything,” Simon said, “I’m really lucky to be here.”

    Words With Friends was released in 2009 and can be played on iOS and Android devices, as well as on Facebook. If you’ve never played it, give it a go—it might even save your life.

    [Source: OzarksFirst.com via PC Mag]

     

     

    This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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    • Stuart
      Stuart  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  3 mths ago
      It was probably "The Doctor".
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Austin, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      So in other words be friends with a doctor
      • M
        M 4 mths ago
        Or Friends with someone who is married to a Doctor, lol.
      • somervillechangeling
        somervillechangeling 4 mths ago
        Or have one as a relative. I can ask my wife's sister about symptoms before I go to the doctor.

        On the other hand, I got to work on her PC's when she lived nearby. One time she showed up with three PC's in the car. Never let people know you build your own PC's...unless you like troubleshooting theirs. LOL
      • Etienne
        Etienne 4 mths ago
        IDK , had one in the family , they really didn't like to be bothered about that stuff ,just wanted to booze and chase women
    • Coco
      Coco  •  4 mths ago
      What were the symptoms???? If it saved his life, and that's part of the point of the article, it would have been nice to include it in the article too.
      • Buckzilla
        Buckzilla 4 mths ago
        you have just been Yahooed.
      • Phil
        Phil 4 mths ago
        @Coco : Yeah, it left me wondering what the described symptoms were too.

        @Save : Not only only are any comments like this from you not needed, but that comment doesn't have a single thing to do with anything in this article or the persons comment that you replied to.
      • AMGsilver
        AMGsilver 4 mths ago
        @ Save... thanks for the laugh, buddy. I'll be sure to drop a dollar in your cup the next time I pass you in the gutter.
    • Rico
      Rico  •  4 mths ago
      Thanks for sharing the symptom with the rest of the world so we know what to look out for lol
      • FLIP
        FLIP 4 mths ago
        This Yahoo. They are run by idiots. How else do you think Chris Chase got a job.
      • really
        really 4 mths ago
        It might not take much longer to search for the symptoms, online, then it took to write your post.
      • traviieza
        traviieza 4 mths ago
        Hint: HIPPA REGULATIONS..
    • tank
      tank  •  Newburgh, New York  •  4 mths ago
      Hey Trevor, Words With Friends doesn't get famous actors thrown off planes. Anti-social behavior in combination with anger management issues by spoiled douchebags is the root cause of getting thrown off planes.
      • King Kahuna
        King Kahuna 4 mths ago
        I like you!! haha
      • Debi
        Debi 4 mths ago
        Hahahahaha! I like Tank, too!
      • Phillip
        Phillip 4 mths ago
        HAHAHA...sign me up!
    • Dr. Manhattan
      Dr. Manhattan  •  Seattle, Washington  •  4 mths ago
      Corrected title: "Man's life saved thanks to Doctor."
      • Rob
        Rob 4 mths ago
        I know... how'd that trained physician spot that, just based on described symptoms??? Oh... hold on... i'm feeling pressure in my chest, a shooting pain in my lef arm, and my jaw hurts... I'd call for help but i'm short of breath.... oh well, ima go lay down while u play online...
      • stillplayingpsolol
        stillplayingpsolol 4 mths ago
        Exactly, these misleading titles couldn't be more annoying and I find that they are mostly found on yahoo. Could have just said that they were chatting online etc etc... Stupid headline grabber. F-U yahoo...
      • TraJ
        TraJ 4 mths ago
        And Yahoo stole the attention grabbing headline format from AOL...always some lame teaser headline to find out that there is really nothing special about the article
    • justlikeu2
      justlikeu2  •  4 mths ago
      "Talking about the incident, Beth said, “Had Larry not sent that message I don’t think Simon would have gone to the doctor that day.”

      Is it just my husband or do most men wait to go to the doctor until they practically have to be carried to the car to get there?
    • NAN
      NAN  •  4 mths ago
      Now that's the kind of story we need to hear more often...something with a positive and happy ending..people helping people...not killing each other off.
    • zzz
      zzz  •  4 mths ago
      This article brought to you by: Zynga.
    • Proud U.S. Veteran
      Proud U.S. Veteran  •  4 mths ago
      We used to talk to our neighbors over the fence to get that sort of advice. I'm happy the fellow is OK.
    • Chris
      Chris  •  4 mths ago
      What the hell? ... did Beth win the game or not?
    • J.J.
      J.J.  •  Hartford, Connecticut  •  4 mths ago
      Thanks doc!
    • just me
      just me  •  4 mths ago
      I like hearing good news. And how nice of that Dr. to offer free advice!
    • Ólafur G
      Ólafur G  •  4 mths ago
      So, what were the symptoms exactly?
    • Cheryl31
      Cheryl31  •  Mesquite, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      yay!! a happy story!! (and yet trolls still manage to tarnish it)
    • A Yahoo! User  •  4 mths ago
      The game didn't get Baldwin thrown off the plane, his refusal to cooperate with airline authorities did. Let's put the blame where it's due.
    • Josie Buchanan
      Josie Buchanan  •  Fayetteville, North Carolina  •  4 mths ago
      Now that is good news. See good things still do happen in this world.
    • mom of four
      mom of four  •  4 mths ago
      It wasn't the *game* that saved his life, it was his wife talking with the wife of someone who picked up on the guy's symptoms. Women do that all the time, talk with each other about their spouses. What game they were playing was irrelevant. Free advertizing for the game.
    • Rhyno
      Rhyno  •  Richardson, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Good deal!! All things for a reason. Glad it worked out and also glad to hear some good news on Yahoo.
    • Kris
      Kris  •  4 mths ago
      Millions of people could have been educated on critical symptoms if Simon's symptoms had been detailed in this article - why is such important information excluded here???
     Post a comment
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