A 66-year-old woman battling the novel coronavirus spent her final days asking her Alexa device for help.
According to reports, LouAnn Dagen (pictured above) died on Saturday weeks after being moved to the emergency room at Mercy Health Saint Mary’s Hospital in Michigan. Following LouAnn’s death, her sister, Penny Dagen, discovered 40 recordings of the COVID-19 patient asking Alexa assistant on her Amazon Echo Show for help in managing her pain, where the local authorities were, and even a bit of companionship.
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Alexa devices save messages in order to “improve the accuracy of your interactions with Alexa,” according to Amazon. Penny shared LouAnn’s heartbreaking messages with local NBC station News 8 — including one recording where she said:
“I am in pain. I have to find a way to relieve it. Can you help me cope with pain?”
In others, the Michigan resident said:
“Alexa, help me.”
“Oh, Alexa, I’m going to hurt.”
“How do I get to the police?”
News 8 reports LouAnn had underlying health conditions that made her more vulnerable to the virus, including a history of diabetes, hypertension, and a stroke almost 10 years ago. The outlet stated her official cause of death from the Kent County Medical Examiner was “coronavirus infection, diabetes and hypertension.”
Penny, who would speak to her sister regularly, said she was called by hospital staff on Saturday, who told her that LouAnn had been placed on a respirator. She remembered:
“They asked me about giving her CPR if her heart stopped and I said, ‘No, she didn’t want that.’ And then her heart stopped and that was it. A half-hour after they called.”
Reflecting on her sister’s passing, Penny said:
“[I]t’s good to know she’s not in pain anymore, but I still miss her… She’s up in heaven now so she’s pain-free, and she’s walking… with my mom and my dad, so I have to be happy for her.”
LouAnn was one of 31 residents at the Metron nursing home in Cedar Springs who tested positive for COVID-19. In a statement to News 8, a rep for the Metron said that she received “excellent care” at the facility before being moved to the hospital, adding:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with LouAnn Dagen’s sister, family and friends Due to patient privacy regulations we cannot share information about an individual resident’s physical or mental health while they are in our care.However, we can share that LouAnn was getting excellent care and that our team was following both her advanced directives and clinical practice guidelines to manage her pain and symptoms. Once those symptoms progressed rapidly, and at the advice of her medical team, she was immediately sent to the hospital.”
So, so devastating. Our hearts go out to Penny and the rest of LouAnn’s loved ones.
[Image via Facebook]
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