“Ring Video Doorbell Helped Save My Life”

When you’re away, you want to know that your home and family are safe. Those words couldn’t have been truer for Joey and his family when he suffered a life-threatening cardiac event while home alone one hot summer morning.

That day, his wife, Anita, and youngest son, Garrett, were away in Dallas, 125 miles from their home in the small town of Gilmer, Texas. While eating breakfast, they received a Motion Alert from their Ring Video Doorbell when Joey went out on the porch. They turned on Live View to see what he was up to, hoping to say ‘hi’ or joke with him.

Anita first watched Joey feed the cats, but when she started speaking to him, she realized something wasn’t right.

“Joey wasn’t responding in the way that we know him to respond,” Anita says.

They watched as Joey started holding his head and then moments later, collapsed on the ground.

“I started getting dizzy,” Joey explains. “And then I just blacked out.”

Anita, who is a nurse, was concerned Joey was having a stroke — which runs in the family — so she sprung into action.

When she tried to talk to Joey and he didn’t respond, she immediately called their next door neighbor of over 20 years, Debbie, and their older son, Kodey, who lives four doors down, to come over to help. Debbie arrived first.

“When I got to Joey, at first I thought he wasn’t breathing,” Debbie says. “I was trying to talk to him, and then I finally saw his stomach move and I knew he was breathing.”

Debbie quickly called 911. The paramedics arrived in less than 10 minutes from the time Joey collapsed. They gave him the assistance he needed and took him to the hospital. Anita watched the whole event unfold live through the video doorbell. She was able to communicate with Debbie via Two-Way Talk on the video doorbell to answer the paramedics’ questions about Joey’s medical history.

“Where I fell, I could have laid there in the heat most of the day without being found,” Joey says.

Later, they learned Joey suffered a cardiac event due to critically low potassium levels. Anita also shared the Ring video¹ from the doorbell with Joey’s doctors at the hospital, which helped them diagnose the cause of the incident.

“It was a phenomenal gift to be able to show that video to the neurologist, and for us to have the understanding that he touched his head before he fell,” Anita says.

Joey spent a few days in the hospital and is now, thankfully, recovering back at home.

“Without the Ring camera, no one would have known,” Joey says. “I was very blessed, not only to have that camera function, but I also have a young son who likes to keep the alerts turned up loud so that he knows when somebody is coming in and out of the home. Had he not taken the time to check that camera, there's no telling what would have happened.”

Get Extra Peace of Mind Like Joey and Anita

Joey and Anita had equipped their home with a Ring Video Doorbell, five Security Cameras and three Chime Pros a few years ago after Joey became disabled in an accident. They live on a large property, so this gives Joey the ability to walk around freely.

“The Ring cameras keep a watchful eye on me when I’m outside and when I’m inside,” he says.

Joey loves that the Ring devices were easy to install.

“Garett and I did it in maybe about 15-20 minutes. It didn't take long at all,” he recalls.

He also appreciates that all of his Ring devices are connected and that he can watch and control them all from a single dashboard in the Ring App.

“All of the camera views pop up in one location. You can go in and control the notifications and [motion] sensitivity on each camera. It's easy to use,” he explains.

They also added their two sons as Shared Users so they can access their parents’ Ring devices and receive notifications, too.

“My wife likes to check in on me frequently,” Joey says. “And then my sons took up the habit, too — especially since I’ve been going outside more. If I open the doors, it sounds a chime and alerts my wife and sons. One of them will usually check the camera.”

Anita also appreciates that there are other people, besides her, who are able to keep an eye on Joey and their home when she’s unavailable.

“When I get an alert, it's not always a situation where I can stop and look in that moment,” she says. “So, for me, it's helpful to know that I'm not the only one monitoring it.”

Start Building Your Ring of Security

Like Anita and Joey, you can use your Ring devices to watch over your home and family when you’re away. Ring video doorbells and cameras can also help make life easier by notifying you when visitors arrive or when packages are delivered, or even help protect your home from break-ins and theft.

“I would recommend anybody to get that [Ring] system — it works,” Joey says.

To get started building your own whole-home Ring security system, call the Ring Security Experts for a free consultation at 1-800-800-RING.

¹ Ring Protect subscription required to record and save videos. Subscription sold separately. For more information on our subscription plans please visit https://ring.com/protect-plans.

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