Kevin Pearce

Traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults in the United States. Kevin Pearce has sustained a traumatic brain injury, but he was lucky and survived. Kevin was born on November 1, 1987 in Norwich, Virginia. He grew up with a love of snowboarding and an immense talent for it. He won many contests in his adolescent years and up until he was 22 years old. At this point he was training for the Olympic trials in Park City, Utah, when he fell hard onto his face. This put him in a coma for a few days, which was an immense scare to his friends, family, and the snowboarding community at large. Although he was severely injured, Kevin made it his goal to get back on his snowboard and help the snowboarding community know that he was up and ready for competition. In reality, this could not happen because sustaining a traumatic brain injury once can increase the fatality if it happens again. A hero must be able to overcome adversity and be courageous, as well as giving, at all times and in all places. Kevin Pearce, a former professional snowboarder who persisted through a challenging traumatic brain injury, works selflessly for his charitable foundation "Love Your Brain", and also inspires and educates children by giving speeches in school about the importance of helmets and snowboarding safety. All of these qualities make Kevin Pearce an amazing hero and inspiration.

Kevin Pearce overcame a great adversity, a TBI (traumatic brain injury) that could have killed him. After his horrific accident, Kevin was so debilitated that he had to learn how to do everything again, even learning how to walk: "'They got me on the treadmill and put it in .01 speed. If you go on a treadmill and you put it on .01 speed, you will see where I was'"(Pearce). This establishes his baseline for after his accident on his physical abilities. It also shows the reader how far back he was taken from his young and fit self down to the weak and uncoordinated fraction of himself. This only motivated him to get better and for him to get back to his dreams, which he then finds out aren't possible to achieve: "'I don't want to be holding on to this lost dream. I don't want to be that kid who's still trying to go for it even though he can't. I want to be there [in the snowboarding community], but I also want to start this new phase of my life'"(Pearce). This shows Kevin's realization of his future after the accident, which he accepts and overcomes after struggling with his own feelings. Kevin loves snowboarding, which is shown by his saying "I want to be in there" meaning the snowboarding world, but he keeps it managed so that now he doesn't feel the urge to go beyond his limits on the board and excites himself with all the new things he can do. Kevin Pearce overcame the adversity of his tragic snowboarding accident, but not without struggles with his bodily recovery and after realizing that even if he felt that he really wanted to try to get back out there, it just wouldn't worked and moved on.

Kevin Pearce was courageous in his actions during and after his recovery from his TBI. Kevin displayed his courage about a year after the accident when he did this:"Kevin showed me an iPhone video of himself skateboarding the day before-"Don't tell my mom," he whispered-and pointed out all the problems with his attempted tricks"(Lehrer). This action of trying to get back to what he loved showed how courageous he was even after riding a board had almost killed him. This also displays his courage to admit to and show this video of himself skateboarding, even though he wasn't supposed to. He also portrayed courage by admitting this: "'I had a really hard time figuring out what I want to be and what I could attach to and really connect with, but what I have found is helping and supporting other people. Before [the accident] I was helping me'"(Pearce). Kevin showed his courage in admitting his fault of being less caring of other people and more of himself. He continued to portray courage in his helping of other people, especially with how hard it was to be going through a stressful time himself. Kevin showed amazing courage by getting back on his board even though he almost died on it, and in admitting his faults from before his accident and striving to change them.

Kevin displays his giving nature with many actions including his foundation entitled "Love Your Brain". He also shows his giving nature in his stance towards the direction competitive snowboarding is going: "'No smoothness, no grace.' Although he refuses to use his injury as a call for reform-'The only lesson of my crash is that riders should wear helmets,' he says - he remains uneasy about the direction of the pro tour and the constant one-upmanship among adolescents"(Lehrer). This reveals his inclination to give because it shows his displeasure with how the new snowboarding competition are being judged on how dangerous the tricks are instead of how well you do them. Again this quote shows his giving nature when he tells that "riders should wear helmets" showing how he wants everyone to be safe and not end up like him. While he now cannot competitively snowboard anymore, he spends his extra time with his charitable foundation: "He established Love Your Brain, a campaign dedicated to providing resources and support for the 1.7 million people in the U.S. who suffer traumatic brain injuries each year, as well as their families"(Cahall). This shows how giving he is because he started this charitable foundation that helps so many people that are going through the same things he went through as well as their families. This shows how giving he is because he started this charitable foundation that helps so many people that are going through the same circumstances that he was in, as well as their families. Kevin Pearce is an outrageously giving person because of his influence on the safety of snowboarding and in his efforts to help people with brain injuries and mental disabilities.

Kevin Pearce's actions through his charitable foundation "Love Your Brain", getting through his challenging injury, and giving inspiring speeches all make Kevin a hero. Kevin's determined spirit led him to overcome his huge adversity in overcoming his TBI and his courageous heart in admitting his faults and getting back to what had almost killed him makes him an inspiration. He also inspires many through his speeches at schools and his work through "Love Your Brain". Kevin is still recovering, but helps others in the same predicament he was in recuperate and heal. Kevin inspires me because of his graciousness and giving spirit. Also, because of his wise advice to the children of the world that they should all wear helmets whenever they snowboard or do other dangerous things. He inspires many others and I to be better people without having to go through such a grizzly crash and recovery where if we did not have a helmet on, might die. Kevin Pearce's amazing story and feats of courage leave me in awe and his opinions of safety make me want to always make sure I have correct safety gear to make sure I do not end up like him, unable to finish out his dreams. If I had the choice to be anyone for a day, I would choose Kevin Pearce because he is such an inspiration to me.