Woman Asked Alexa For Help Before Dying From Coronavirus Complications: 'I Am In Pain'

A nursing home resident in western Michigan who died from COVID-19 complications repeatedly asked her Amazon Echo for help with pain, WOOD-TV reported.

"Alexa, help me. ... I am in pain. I have to find a way to relieve it," LouAnn Dagen said in recordings found by her sister, Penny Dagen, and shared with the station.

LouAnn Dagen, 66, died Saturday after arriving at Mercy Health St. Mary's hospital in Grand Rapids.

She lived at Metron of Cedar Springs, which disclosed last week that 31 residents and five staff members had tested positive for the coronavirus and were quarantined.

Penny Dagen said her sister was getting medicine to help with pain. She said LouAnn, who had diabetes and hypertension, was taken to the hospital when her oxygen and blood pressure dropped.

"The hospital called me right away and said that they put her on a respirator," Penny Dagen said. "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."

Metron said LouAnn, a resident for more than 10 years, was "getting excellent care" and was taken to the hospital when her health changed.

"Alexa was LouAnn's primary communication tool with her sister who was unable to get to our facility. ... It was a very positive part of her life which we supported fully," said operations director Paul Pruitt.

First published on April 9, 2020 / 3:06 PM