The Apple Watch has put time on Paul Houle Jr.’s side.

Houle, a senior at Tabor Academy, started Sept. 8 feeling strong with a full day of football practice ahead of him. By the end of the day, however, he was in an emergency room with his liver, kidneys and heart failing.

The 17-year-old said his Apple Watch, which he bought with money from his summer job, first alerted him that something was wrong.

“During practice I felt really tired and I had some back pain, but it wasn’t so severe that I thought anything was really up,” said Houle, a resident of Barnstable. “I thought I was just sore and out of shape.”

Back in his dormitory, Houle said fellow students were trying on the watch and asking about its features. As they tested the watch’s heart rate monitor, it registered Houle’s resting rate as 145 beats per minute.

That’s almost double his regular resting rate.

“I thought, ‘that’s not normal,’” he recalled.

Unaware at the time, Houle was suffering from rhabdomyolysis. An acute condition, it occurs when damaged muscles release proteins into the bloodstream, stressing the body’s organs.

After a hot day of practice it’s likely that high body temperature triggered the condition.

Houle brought his elevated heart rate to the attention of the school’s trainer later that night during a meeting for preseason athletes.

“He didn’t believe the Apple Watch at first,” Houle said. “He thought it was broken.”

The trainer took Houle’s pulse manually and confirmed the device’s reading.

Houle was taken to the school’s health center where his vital signs were checked. Houle’s father, a neurosurgeon at Cape Cod Healthcare, was then notified. Soon after, he was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital’s emergency room by the school’s nurse. He was released three days later.

Without knowing his heart rate, Houle said he wouldn’t have sought treatment as soon as he did. The move likely saved his life, he said.

Houle is back at school, but hasn’t yet returned to football, a sport he’s played for five years.

A defensive nose guard, he’s hoping to get back on the field for a Nov. 14 game against Tabor’s longtime rival, The Holderness School.

Besides the game, Houle has much more to look forward to after receiving a call from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Houle said Cook learned about the incident after an article was posted to Cape Cod Hospital’s website.

“[Cook] called me on my cell phone and said, ‘We’re all thinking of you and just want to make sure you’re doing OK,’” Houle said.

The CEO also offered Houle a new iPhone 6S before its release to the general public – and an internship.

Houle received the iPhone on Sept. 24. He plans on taking Cook up on his offer as he works to earn his college degree in electrical engineering.

“[Cook] told me I’ll always have a spot at Apple and to enter the internship program as soon as possible,” Houle said.