Artist manages diabetes hands-free with Dexcom G7 Direct to Apple Watch*†
When artists hear the muses speak, they cannot leave their creations right when the inspiration peaks and the imagination soars. For artists who also have Type 2 diabetes, like Dexcom Warrior Krista Sheneman, interrupting her creative process for even a moment to check glucose levels adds an undesirable distraction in the creative process.
That’s why Dexcom’s Direct to Apple Watch functionality that easily connects the Dexcom G7 CGM sensor directly to her watch*† via Bluetooth is nothing short of “revolutionary” for her life, health, and passion for art, she said.
The 36-year-old recent University of Michigan Master of Fine Arts graduate works in New Media, with a deep passion for sculpting works by hand in 3D using wood, ceramics, metal, printmaking, robotics, video and even AI. The artist’s journey is never easy, nor is the daily diabetes management journey. But she has deftly managed both paths for nearly 10 years thanks
in part to Dexcom CGM.
Soul-searching project leads to Dexcom
During her time studying for her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, she tore her rotator cuff. During the visit to the doctor for the injury, she got a full physical that revealed she also had Type 2 diabetes.
“They handed me a Post-It note with a 1-800 number on it, then left the room,” Sheneman said. “I went to my car and cried for a
long time, because that’s what you do! But then I called the number, which led to an incredible amount of support. I ended up with
a dietitian and nutritionist and endocrinologist – the whole package – so it was very useful.”
She managed her diabetes the traditional way: fingerpricking, checking her glucose every two hours, and adjusting diet and lifestyle. But for an artist who uses her hands to create, the pain of fingerpricking wore on her. Soon, her diabetes diagnosis and her art would intertwine to lead her to Dexcom CGM and no more fingersticks.‡
‡ Fingersticks required for diabetes treatment decisions if symptoms or expectations do not match readings.
After earning her BFA, she applied for a traveling scholarship the Art Academy of Cincinnati hands out to one graduate every year. She won it with her proposal to walk and document a 28-day, 470-mile walk alone from Cincinnati
to her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, as a journey of
self-discovery.
“At the time, I was very interested in what it meant to return home as a different person,” Sheneman recalled. “I had left Memphis, kind of aimless and wandering. And now I was returning with purpose and a better knowledge of who I am, rectifying past and present and what it means to be what I sometimes refer to as ‘unhealthy’, mentally and physically.”
Prior to the trip, which she completed successfully in April 2022, she got her ducks in a row by working out the logistics and seeing her doctor, who suggested a Dexcom G6 CGM as a better way to monitor her health during the trip’s rigors.
“Dexcom CGM allowed me to make all the decisions
about low- and high-glucose snacks and make decisions immediately,” she said. “The Follow app§ allowed my friends and family to monitor me and alert me when I wasn’t doing well. And no more fingerpricking‡!”
‡Fingersticks required for diabetes treatment decisions
if symptoms or expectations do not match readings.
Time for G7 and Direct to Apple Watch
“The shorter, 30-minute warm-up just makes it so much easier to control what’s going on in my life,” she said. “It’s smaller and stays
on better, since I’m notorious for knocking them off my body when
I’m lifting heavy things and doing the physical labor required in
my artwork.”
But the real “revolution” came after Krista got an Apple Watch* and was able to start managing diabetes hands-free*†. When Direct to Apple Watch is connected, her sensor sends CGM data directly to her watch so she doesn’t need to look at her smartphone to see her glucose numbers, trend arrow, trend graph (the past one, three or six hours) and alerts. It’s all right there on her wrist.
Smart device sold separately.*
“I can have my phone in my backpack across the room, which is so much safer in the environments I'm in,” she said. “I can glance at my watch and do intense things, like working saws, foundry and welding and still be safe with myself and with the other people in the room. So just being able to literally look at my watch and not have to stop anything is revolutionary in my world.”
Plus, her phone* no longer gets dirtied by clay, sawdust or glue, like it often did when she had to stop working on her art projects to check her numbers by holding the device.
Another bonus, Dexcom G7 with Direct to Apple Watch helps her prioritize her tasks.
This allows me to not have this strange battle between my brain and my body, which has been a struggle my whole life over which task to complete,” Sheneman said. “I can look at my watch and think, ‘Oh, I actually do need to stop doing this.’ Or I can go about doing my diabetes math and say to myself, ‘Cool, I have about an hour left of doing whatever the activity is,’ and then come back.”
And she has gained a bit of inspiration for her artwork from having Type 2 diabetes.
“As an artist, we're reflections of what is going on, and I cannot make art without any of the things happening in my life,” she said. “I
did some disabilities-related studies at Michigan and write a lot about what that looks like in a world that may or may not accept you, especially as an able-bodied disabled person. In the diabetes world, a Type 2 is stereotyped as shameful.”
The Direct to Apple Watch functionality gives her discretion when checking her numbers, and that has helped her deal with that sense of shame and use her art to help others do the same.
“I've been in testing situations in academic areas where it's not OK to leave the room to take care of my needs,” Sheneman said.
“So that discretion and ease are always valuable. I try hard to make sure people know I have diabetes, that it’s human and how it's interwoven. But I'm really trying to break that shameful cycle. I love that when I do need the discretion, it is incredibly impactful to
just be able to glance at my watch and not even worry about what's going on around me.”
The artist’s journey continues
With her Type 2 diabetes better managed, Krista’s worries now more resemble those of any recent college graduate – forging a career path.
For now, she works as a butcher in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while continuing her artwork and sharing her passion and wisdom with the next generation of artists.
“I came to art late in my life, and I feel like if I had the support from people in my life who would have pushed me earlier, I would have done it sooner,” she said. “And I want to let the young artists who are 21, just graduating and don't know what to do in the world to know it's OK! They can go out into the world and do whatever they want, even if it's scary to graduate with an art degree without a clear-cut job.”
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*Smart device sold separately. To view a list of compatible devices, visit dexcom.com/compatibility. † Compatible smartphone is required to pair a new Dexcom G7 sensor with a compatible Apple Watch. To use Share/Follow the smartphone must be within 33
feet of the Dexcom G7. ‡ Fingersticks required for diabetes treatment decisions if symptoms or expectations do not match readings.
§ Separate Dexcom Follow app and internet connection required. ‡ Smart device sold separately. To view a list of compatible devices, visit dexcom.com/compatibility.
BRIEF SAFETY STATEMENT: Failure to use the Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring System and its components according to the instructions for use provided with your device and available at https://www.dexcom.com/safety-information and to properly consider all indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and cautions in those instructions for use may result in you missing a severe hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) or hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) occurrence and/or making a treatment decision that may result in injury. If your glucose alerts and readings from the Dexcom CGM do not match symptoms, use a blood glucose meter to make diabetes treatment decisions. Seek medical advice and attention when appropriate, including for any medical emergency.