How My iPhone Saves My Life
I recently met up with a friend from the brain injury community who I hadn’t seen in about a year, because she was going to be part of a TBI presentation at South College with me here in Asheville next week. I met Charlene at the local TBI support group many years ago when she resided in the area. One Sunday morning after attending a Unity of the Blue Ridge service, I introduced her to my friend Patrice, and Charlene told her how I provided helpful iPhone tips and strategies. Patrice suggested I write a blog about it.
I sat down at my laptop and got to wondering… is this something I have already written? First, I visited my website to check the list of blogs there, but there was no iPhone hacks posted online yet. Huh. As I stared at the blinking cursor on a blank Word document, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a familiar topic. So, I flipped to another folder on my desktop and low and behold, I found a retired blog that I wrote more than ten years ago titled How My iPhone Saved My Life.
As I reviewed these old words, I smiled as I began to recall that I used to read this essay to any employee who would listen every time I entered an Apple Store in NYC. Occasionally someone would tear up, once a woman brought her hands to her mouth and hugged me. This blog allowed me to share my survival story in a meaningful way, and I am optimistic it can help make others’ lives a little easier. The first three paragraphs are from the original blog:
How My iPhone Saved My Life
Written by Angela Leigh Tucker
7/21/15
There is one man whose life has forever changed my own. Steve Jobs was a creative entrepreneur who died on October 5, 2011. I sustained a traumatic brain injury 3 years earlier, and I felt a deep sense of loss for this man who I have never met.
There is not a day that goes by that I haven’t used a product he created. Prior to the car crash, I received an iPhone while working at Hunter Public Relations. This device was a means of staying connected to my staff, clients and important press whom I wooed on my clients’ behalf. I had no idea it would become an instrumental tool for the extensive recovery that laid ahead.
My grief was so great for this American icon, I sent a message to RememberingSteve@apple.com along with millions of people across the world. It was an essay titled “How My iPhone Helps My Traumatic Brain Injury” and I now read it to a staff member every time I entire an Apple store.
Rereading that essay made me realize I still use many of those strategies today but in different incarnations. These hacks are extensive, so feel free to skip any that may not apply to you. Here are the most useful for me, and I hope some may be helpful to others in some form:
1.) Alarms: they reminded me to take medication twice daily. At that time, this was the most important contribution to my recovery because medication was central to keeping me emotionally stable. The Marimba ringtone became such a theme song in my household, that whenever it went off everyone would say in unison “AM Pills!” Or when were out in a restaurant, “PM Pills!” I usually snoozed the reminder until I returned home to my pillbox. It was most important to not turn off an alarm until the task was complete. Now it reminds me to take vitamins, or whenever I have an unexpected medical appointment. I also create alarms for things I may forget, so it chirps, dings, buzzes & rings throughout the day.
2.) iCal: the phone’s calendar kept track of all the appointments. When I returned to NYC, there were a dizzying number of doctor and therapy sessions to manage. At that time, it felt as if I had more appointments as a patient than during my days as a Vice President. I have fewer doctor appointments now, but I still rely on the iCal to keep my week organized and running smoothly.
iCal Alerts are different then alarms; I consider them extra backup. Alerts are set within each iCal entry itself, so they spontaneously pop up on the screen to “alert” users whenever they are scheduled and remain on the screen until it is swiped away. In fact, alerts have become the most valuable feature of this calendar. I can set two alerts for each appointment, which I will undoubtedly forget otherwise. My memory formula is I set a Two-Day alert, and then a Two-Hour alert. I can’t tell you how many times a Two-Hour alert got me to a forgotten meeting on time. In fact, while updating this blog, an alert saved me yesterday! I was sitting in a manicure chair and just had my cuticles trimmed when an alert reminded me, I had a scheduled BrainHQ training session in 30 minutes. Fortunately, I lived only 5 minutes away and was quite literally “saved by the bell.”
3.) Customized Tones: Because there are so many alarms set on my phone, which chimes all day (currently there are 20, but not all are tuned on), I customize the tones to help me know what the alarm is corresponding to by its sound. For example, for my daily prayer reminder I use “Bell Tower”, which sounds like church bells. For callers from North Carolina, I use “Crickets” and callers from Alabama, I use “Choo Choo.” For callers who have a brain injury, I use “Descent”, which sounds like someone falling. Terrible, I know. There are a few contacts who have their own personal tone, like my husband, so I know from across the room when I get their call.
4.) Voice to Text: I am not a proficient typer or very good speller. I also can’t think of anything more annoying than trying to type up a note that I am trying desperately not to forget. That’s when Voice-to-Text can save the day. In a text field, I click the image of a microphone on the lower right corner of the screen, then start talking. Give it a try. I think it is fun. I take LOTS of notes now, especially during doctor appointments. I use the microphone so often when capturing notes that some doctors will dictate their points directly into the phone. It is important to always get permission from those in the room to record any meeting. Another benefit is Voice-To-Text will also correctly spell whatever I usually misspell. Such as “Alzheimer”, I’ve never spelled that correctly. Always re-read before hitting send!
5.) Pictures of faces: There are 2,240 contacts currently in my phone. That’s a whole lotta people. Some may feel this is too many contacts or overwhelming, and perhaps it is. There are plenty of people that I could clean out who I am no longer in contact with, but I hesitate to do so. Whenever I add someone new, I try my best to include their photo by taking it right then and there. Seeing a person’s face is one of the best ways for me to unlock memories of them.
Excuse me, an alarm just reminded me to take an afternoon vitamin.
6.) Directions: I had a poor sense of direction before the injury, and it has become one of the greatest impairments that I live with today. In fact, I’ve lived in Asheville for the past 10 years, and I cannot tell you where any of the main thoroughfares are, where they go or how to reach them. However, I am never lost while carrying my iPhone!
7.) Parking Lot Locator: Without fail, no matter which parking lot I use or how many times I’ve been there before, I usually cannot recall where I parked. But I never fear, because the Tesla app lets me honk the car, so I can more easily locate my vehicle when I’m lost in a parking lot, which all look the same to me. Other cars provide similar apps, such as the Hyundai IONIQ and Volvo’s EX90. You’ll often see me wandering aimlessly around the Target parking lot following a horn blast.
Along with other helpful tools that I have developed, my iPhone has allowed me to return to independent living and hold on to cherished memories that I otherwise wouldn’t have after the car crash. My husband Rich was the driver that fateful night and died beside me. His final words came in the last text I ever received on the day he died, which was sent on July 31st, 2008, at 8:17 AM. It concluded 5 days’ worth of conversation. His last words were “Your body is a wonderland”.
The iPhone is a tool I will probably use daily for the rest of my life, and I’ll likely continue to share this whenever I visit an Apple Store. I hope you found a jewel tucked inside this essay that was helpful for you. I get sad whenever I see someone struggle with their iPhone, and I often share a few tips right on the spot. As our phones update and change, I do not know everything but I am happy to answer questions that I do know and help others understand how their phones can be tools that make their lives easier.