FAST TRACK TO BETTER HEALTH
Charlie Kimball is closing in on his goal of being the first licensed racecar driver with diabetes to win the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar series championship.
Kimball has had success in the famed Indianapolis 500, posting top 10 finishes in four of the last five years, in what is the most prestigious event in the IndyCar calendar (and one of the largest sporting events in the world).
But his racing career was seriously threatened when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 22 and was unable to complete the 2007 racing season.
“I had extremely good care right away,” says Kimball, who was then racing in Europe and living in Oxford, U. K. “One of the best pieces of advice I was given when I was first diagnosed was to apply the same discipline and drive to managing my diabetes as I did to being a racecar driver and then I’d be successful.”
In 2009, Kimball returned to racing, competing in IndyCar, North America’s premier open-wheel motorsports series. That same year he also began a long- term partnership with Novo Nordisk. The global health-care company, known for 90 years of leader- ship and innovation in diabetes care, has been Kimball’s primary sponsor since his return to racing. He has completed more than 100 races, at the most elite level of the series, under the Novo Nordisk banner.
“My relationship with Novo Nordisk really started in 2007, long before the company had any idea who I was,” Kimball adds. “I knew about their centres of excellence from the company logo on the wall in the medical specialist’s office and I was clear about their influence on me because I was using their insulin from day one after my diagnosis.”
But his return to racing came with new challenges both on and off the track. Kimball worked closely with a team of diabetes care professionals to develop a management program that not only work for his “on the go” lifestyle, but would also keep him safe in the racecar.
Diabetes is characterized by the body’s partial or complete inability to produce insulin, the hormone that regulates glucose absorption and distribution to the cells. Close to 400 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, some 90 per cent of them with type 2 diabetes and 10 per cent with type 1. In this most serious form of diabetes, a type of autoimmune disease, the body’s immune system destroys the cells that produce insulin.
While having and managing diabetes is not easy, says Kimball, whose black Labrador retriever is currently in training to become a diabetes alert dog, “insulin and delivery devices have got so much better over the last 20 or 30 years that it much easier for people with diabetes to do whatever they want in life. Managing diabetes successfully is always a challenge, but the tools available make it much more manageable.”
For example, Kimball wears a glucose monitor as part of living and racing with diabetes. The monitor, a sensor that is wired into his body, transfers data to a display in his car as he races.
“Along with all the other sensors on the racecar, I have my blood glucose monitor on the dash,” he says. “Not only am I able to look at it, but the data is also transmitted to my team in pit lane in real time, so that my mechanics and engineers are able to keep track of my diabetes management just as they keep track of everything else.”
“Most Indycar drivers have a drink bottle to keep them hydrated,” he adds. “Mine’s a little different in that I actually have two drink bottles, one of water and a second one of orange juice. My dad, who’s a mechanical engineer, designed a valve that we got 3D printed and mounted on my seatbelt, so I can switch between the two bottles. The big concern for me is my blood sugar going low while I’m driving. Being able to switch over and have orange juice means I can bring the blood sugar up without having to stop and pull into the pit lane. So it doesn’t get in the way of what’s happening on the racetrack.”
Kimball has traditionally done well at IndyCar’s annual stop in Canada, earning his first IndyCar podium finish on the streets of Toronto in 2012. Earlier this year he joined with Novo Nordisk in adding Diabetes Canada to his car for the Toronto race.
“As a global leader in diabetes care, Novo Nordisk has a responsibility to invest in initiatives that support the diabetes community,” says Brian Hilberdink, president at Novo Nordisk Canada, Inc. “Our partnership with Diabetes Canada and Charlie Kimball reinforces this commitment and we’re proud to support Charlie live his dream of driving professionally while man- aging his diabetes. Diabetes literally doesn’t slow him down, and we hope his story will inspire others.”
“We are proud to support Charlie Kimball, an inspiring example of an athlete and person with type 1 diabetes who is living a healthy l ifestyle and making his dreams come true,” says Richard Blickstead, president and CEO of Diabetes Canada. “Together with our partner, Novo Nordisk Canada, we hope everyone in the diabetes community will see themselves in Charlie and believe that together we can make great things happen, including ending this disease.”
And, in addition to all his successes on the racetrack, Kimball is very busy with the Race for Insulin program, in partnership with Novo Nordisk.
“One of the greatest things for me about the relationship is being able to tell my story and encourage the next generation,” says Kimball. “Novo Nordisk does so much for the patient community, not only in developing the medications and delivery devices but also in making sure that the people using them are supported and empowered. I see that both as a patient and as an ambassador for Novo Nordisk.
“The Race for Insulin program has been so successful,” he adds. “It has allowed me to tell my story and interact with people on so many different levels. I’ve been able to talk to patients, kids and their parents at community events or on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and to legislators and health- care professionals across the country. These interactions are fulfilling for me and powerful in educating people about diabetes. When people have a greater understanding of what diabetes is, it strengthens the diabetes community as a whole. And it is my relationship with Novo Nordisk that has made all this possible.”
As well as its high-profile partnership with Kimball, the company works with other sports professionals to continue its multi-faceted approach to diabetes care. For instance, since 2012, Team Novo Nordisk has partnered with former pro cyclist and diabetes advocate, Phil Southerland, to educate and empower people affected by diabetes, through supporting a professional cycling team made up of athletes with type 1 diabetes.
I’VE BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO PATIENTS, KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS AT COMMUNITY EVENTS OR ON CAPITOL HILL ... AND TO LEGISLATORS AND HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THESE INTERACTIONS ARE FULFILLING FOR ME AND POWERFUL IN EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT DIABETES. WHEN PEOPLE HAVE A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT DIABETES IS, IT STRENGTHENS THE DIABETES COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. — CHARLIE KIMBALL. RACECAR DRIVER