Woman Dying of Coronavirus Asked Alexa for Help 40 Times

'Oh, Alexa, I'm going to hurt'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 9, 2020 3:32 AM CDT
Woman Dying of Coronavirus Asked Alexa for Help 40 Times
Members of City Impact, a faith-based organization from Cedar Springs, sing and pray for residents and staff at Metron of Cedar Springs nursing home, Wednesday, April 1, 2020.   (Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

A Michigan woman dying from COVID-19 asked Amazon's Alexa for help at least 40 times in her final days, her sister says. LouAnn Dagen, one of 31 residents at the Metron nursing home in Cedar Springs to test positive for coronavirus, repeatedly asked the virtual assistant for help managing her pain, People reports. "Alexa, help me," she said in one recording her sister, Penny Dagen, provided to News 8. "Oh, Alexa, I'm going to hurt," she said in another. In one recording, the 66-year-old asked "how to get to the police," and was given directions to the nearest police station. Her sister says LouAnn said she felt like she was in a "roasting pan." "She kept saying, 'Oh, my head, my head.' Her back, arms, just all over."

LouAnn Dagen died on Saturday at Mercy Health Saint Mary's Hospital, with the cause of death listed as "coronavirus infection, diabetes and hypertension." Her sister tells MLive.com that she had been in regular phone contact with LouAnn. She says she knew LouAnn had COVID-19, and she initially seemed to be coping well. "Then, last week, it got very painful for her. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She said, 'Penny, my pain is at a number 10. I need some relief,'" Penny Dagen says. "But I didn't know she had been talking to Alexa until afterward." Metron's director of operations says LouAnn was receiving "excellent care" and was hospitalized as soon as her symptoms progressed. (More Alexa stories.)

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