Charlie's Story

Straightening the Curves

"I'm a professional racecar driver. Racing is my passion and has been since I was a young boy. In 2007, I went to the doctor for a little skin irritation and came out with a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis. As you can imagine, I was more than a little shocked and terrified of what this meant for my days as a racer.

I took some time off to learn about my diabetes. My first time back in the race car was in Malaysia. I finished in 4th place on the timesheets and it made me realize something very powerful — diabetes didn't change who I am. This was my turning point. I started looking at diabetes treatment options. I also sought out a cutting-edge diabetes specialist who could evaluate my situation and give me solid advice. I explained that I can't just stop to check fingersticks while racing. And I train 6 days a week, I travel — I'm a busy man. And with that, the SEVEN was recommended.

The SEVEN has totally changed my life. My SEVEN is a part of me — I feel blind without it. I even attach my SEVEN Receiver to my steering wheel when I'm in the race car. I check it like it's one of my race car gauges as I'm driving around the track. It's my body's data. And it's not information-overload. It's perfect.

People ask what single thing has changed my diabetes care — it's the SEVEN, hands down. My favorite analogy about the SEVEN is: If you were blindfolded around the track and could only peek 4 times, you’d be bouncing off the walls. If you can have your eyes open continuously, you can do your best. This continuous visibility is what it's like using the SEVEN.

My SEVEN gives me peace-of-mind because it's watching out for me. If you were to ask me who I think could benefit from a SEVEN, I'd tell you — everybody."

— Charlie Kimball, California