Meet #MedtronicChampion Kris

From disbelief to breaking stigmas: Meet #MedtronicChampion Kris
 

Meet Kris Leeper, an avid foodie, traveler, and golfer, who lives with type 1 diabetes. Kris was diagnosed with type 1 when he was 26 years old. He began his diabetes therapy management journey with multiple daily injections (MDI) before learning how to use insulin pens and later making the switch to insulin pump therapy. In 2023, he started on the MiniMed™ 780G system with the Guardian™ 4 sensor. Read his story to hear about his personal experiences and advice for others on their own diabetes journeys.  

Disbelief over diabetes diagnosis
 

I just started feeling off. I was still going to work and being active, but I just started feeling a little sluggish, slow. This continued for a couple months, but it didn’t really cause concern — I was 26 and had been really healthy up to that point! Later my wife, Tierra, and I went on vacation to New York City; we were doing a lot of walking, and I remember feeling exhausted. I went straight back to work after and felt worse. My wife convinced me to go to Urgent Care, and they ended up sending me to the ER one block away. They told me I had type 1 diabetes and that I needed insulin because my blood sugar was in the 600s. I didn’t even know what that meant. 

Next thing I knew, I was in the ICU, getting insulin in an IV and a crash course in diabetes. It was a total sensory overload. This was in 2013, and while Medtronic and other companies had insulin pumps out, the doctors’ best advice at the time was to “eat less, carry around a bottle of insulin and needles, and give [myself] shots six to seven times a day.” I was in disbelief. A couple days ago, I had been walking around NYC, and two weeks before that, I was in Canada for work. It was too much to take — that kind of lifestyle just didn’t sound manageable for a young guy, recently married, with a new job and active social life. It really took me a while to learn about the disease and convince myself that this was going to be my new normal — that it’s what I had to do to survive.

What I wish I’d known
 

There are multiple ways to manage diabetes, and it’s totally manageable! You can live a pretty normal life with the disease and continue doing all the things you love — you just need to relearn how. At the time, the information I received from the ICU nurses and at follow-up appointments was really negative — it was very one-sided, like, “Hey, you need to eat less. You can’t do this anymore. You can’t do that anymore.” No one wants to be unable to do something due to their diagnosis! I want people to know that if you manage it well, you can do anything you want.  

The biggest advancement in diabetes management
 

The MiniMed™ 780G system is amazing. I don’t think people fully understand what the Guardian™ 4 sensor can do to help you. It’s really changed my life in a way where I no longer think about diabetes every hour and I can make better decisions.* The other day I had a morning meeting. Usually, I’d say no to coffee and breakfast because I don’t want to have to deal with figuring out the right amount of carbs to bolus for. If I was wrong and went high, I wouldn’t feel well, or I might have to use the bathroom a lot during the meeting. It’s all just too much work and too many things to worry about. But this time, I said sure because I knew the tech in the MiniMed™ 780 and Guardian™ 4 sensor would correct my insulin amount if I messed up — it allowed me to make a decision in real time and indulge.  
 

Sharing authentic stories with the Medtronic Champion community
 

It’s been really impactful to share stories in a way where it’s really authentic, and to help the broader community. There’s so much misinformation out there and problems with the healthcare system as it pertains to diabetes. I want to hear from people, have them ask me questions, and give them my real-life experience to help break the stigmas and barriers of mistruths about diabetes. I hope to be an advocate and continue to show people that, “Hey, there are ways to manage this correctly, and Medtronic is there to help you with tech advancements and lessons learned to improve lives around the world.” 

“I am a Medtronic Champion because I want to ensure the next generation of type 1 diabetics never experiences the struggle I endured as a newly diagnosed patient.”