Kevin Pearce

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02716/ ()

Kevin Pearce is my hero not just because he was a world class snowboarder but because of the way he fought back from having a traumatic brain injury. But that did not stop him. He stayed motivated to becoming a world class snowboarder again. But when he realized that he had almost zero chance of becoming what he used to be he new he had to change his identity or create a new path in life. He also has devoted most of his life to raising awareness for traumatic brain injuries and wearing helmets. He also raises money and awareness for Down syndrome because his older brother suffers with this condition.

Kevin going through tough times at the hospital. (http://www.kevinpearce.com/images/bio/milestones/k ())

He was training with his friends for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Park City, Utah. His main competitor was Shaun White and they both had to be able to do the same trick, the cab double-cork. Shaun White had Red Bull build a half pipe for him to practice in private so nobody could steal his tricks. Kevin Pearce did the same thing but Kevin decided to invite all of his friends to train with him there. Nobody wanted to be the first one to try the cab double-cork, so he did Rock, Paper, Scissors with his friend Luke Mitrani, and Kevin lost. So he dropped in and went up for the jump and came so close, but at the end he didn't catch anything but his face. " I happened to look up and I was like oh my god, that was so bad. It was a perfect story of a fall, it couldn't have been any worse. I just started hollering for a ski patrol, I said hey we are going to need a helicopter up here." says Scotty Lago, one of the friends with him at the time.

http://s1.dmcdn.net/Bo_jo/1280x720-pHN.jpg ()

He had a very slow recovery and spent almost two years rehabilitating. From Park City, Utah he was transferred to a hospital in Salt Lake City where he spent the next 27 days in intensive care. After those days he was barely able to move, but he soon regained the ability to speak. He also slowly gained walking again. After three months of rehab he started to want to get back out there on his snowboard again and compete at the highest levels. He new how serious of an injury it was but his brain could not accept the new limitations the injury had given him. "That was the hardest part, because my brain wouldn't allow me to see that. It didn't want to tell me the truth." says Kevin. His entire family was very nervous about his determination to getting back out on the slopes again. His older brother, David who suffers from Down syndrome, was the most anxious about his determination. "I just don't want you to die," he says. Nobody was forgetting about Kevin Pearce, since they couldn't see him on the slopes they wanted to be in his "Frends" crew. His "Frends" crew is made up of seven of his best friends who are also riders. They spell it with no "I" because there is no "I" in friends. They put their crew before themselves. Also it seemed that the entire snowboarding community was wearing the"I ride for Kevin" t-shirt. But more than one year had gone by and he was getting frustrated because he didn't want people to ride for him, he wanted to ride for himself. Two years after his accident he did make it back to the slopes but after that he realized that he would never be good enough to be a professional snowboarder again. He would just have to enjoy riding around with his Frends.

http://www.vnews.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common ()

The part of Kevin I admire the most is his dedication to his organization "Love Your Brain". Love Your Brain is an organization that brings people together to connect, educate, and empower. Their goal is to improve lives through a mindful approach that focuses on brain injury prevention, rehabilitation from a brain injury, and brain health. Simon Pearce, Kevin Pearce's dad, works at a glass making company and he made a Love Your Brain Bowl. He made this to help forge meaningful connections.

What a boarder. (http://a1.espncdn.com/photo/2011/1208/as_kp_300.jp ())

Kevin Pearce is a hero because he was on the verge of being a very successful snowboarder and then in one split second he had that all taken away from him. He became a selfless person and worked for other causes that are more important that being a great snowboarder. He had so many people give love and hope to him and now all he wants to do is give that back to them to show how grateful he was. He teaches people about the importance of wearing a helmet is and how serious brain damage is. He is so grateful for his life and his family because he realized that he could've lost all that really quickly.