Man’s life saved thanks to a game of Words With Friends - WICU12/WSEE Erie, PA News, Sports, Weather and Events

By Trevor Mogg
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Source:  KCTV (with video available)

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:  KCTV (with video available)

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This article was originally posted on Digital Trends