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with Kyle Busch Motorsports which was one of the milestones in his early racing career. "I put the thirst and weight loss out of my mind as I wanted so badly for all this to happen. After a month or two, my parents noticed my weight loss and decided to take me to the doctor where they diagnosed me with diabetes. They told me it was Type 1 which at the time meant nothing to me, until the doctors said I couldn't race anymore." Reed was devastated and struggled with the realization that his early start in professional racing would come to an abrupt end. "Not knowing what to do, I wanted to at least understand more about Type 1 Diabetes. The more I learned, the more I started to understand about the disease as a patient." His research led to Dr. Anne Peters, a renowned endocrinologist, professor of medicine, and director of the USC Clinical Diabetes Program. She worked with athletes, including Indycar Series race driver Charlie Kimball, who is also diagnosed with Diabetes, and discovered there were alternatives that could keep racers with Diabetes in the driver's seat. "I contacted her and we got the ball rolling," said Reed. "She put me on a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor that gave me hope that I could continue racing, but is also useful in my daily life." With the monitor constantly measuring Reed's glucose levels, Dr. Peters spoke to NASCAR officials who in turn, were satisfied that Reed could race, and worked closely with Roush Racing to make sure Reed would not pose a safety hazard to himself or other racers on the track. "Technology is part of what's allowed us to get Ryan back to racing," said Dr. Peters. "They can stick this little device under their skin, and that sends a signal to a receiver that tells him continuously what his blood sugar levels are and can alert when it goes too high or too low." Reed mounts the monitor on the dash of the Lilly/American Diabetes Association race car, and glances at it during a race, making it no different than monitoring the vehicle's vital fluid and temperature "Working out and eating healthy helps when I'm inside the race car," Determined to pursue his racing career, Reed found a way to race and has become successful in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 11 DiGEST THIS