How Playing Words with Friends Saved One Man’s Life

In a heart-warming story first reported by KCTV in St. Louis, the highly addictive online game, Words with Friends, is credited with saving an Australian man's life. Two women, Beth Legler of Blue Springs, Missouri and Georgie Fletcher of Australia, were randomly matched as opponents on Words with Friends. As happens often, the two women not only played the game but also began chatting as they played.

During one of their conversations, Georgie mentioned that her husband, Simon, wasn't feeling well and described his symptoms to her virtual friend. Simon had been having persistent burning at the back of his throat, which he attributed to acid reflux. But then she told Beth that he was becoming so fatigued that he could no longer walk to the mailbox.

Beth jumped on the case. She was concerned enough to consult with her husband Larry, who happened to be a physician. When he heard Simon's symptoms, Larry advised the couple in Australia to waste no time in getting to an emergency room. The doctor's intuition was correct because Simon was diagnosed with a 99 percent coronary artery blockage, which may have proven fatal if left untreated.

"I just think Beth and I were meant to meet on this game," Simon's wife Georgie told KCTV.

Now the two couples feel like lifelong friends even though they still haven't met in person.  "I owe Larry everything ...I'm really lucky to be here," said Simon.

Disclosure: This author has previously disclosed an addiction to Words with Friends. As a result, she is hypervigilant to anecdotal reports of any potential health and/or welfare benefits of playing the game. She has also reported the story of two other randomly matched players who became husband and wife.

Previous posts about Words with Friends on Life Goes Strong:

• Words with Friends: A Serendipitous Way to Make New Friends
• I'm Addicted to Words with Friends
• Top Ten Ways to Win at Scrabble and Words with Friends