Kevin Pearce Back Snowboarding 2 Years After Horrifying Accident Left Him Brain Injured

Posted on Dec 26, 2011 @ 06:17AM

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Some might call it a Christmas miracle.

Almost two years to the day that Kevin Pearce came close to dying after a horrifying accident, the world-famous snowboarder is back on the slopes.

Months of intense rehab enabled Pearce to get back up on his board at Colorado's Breckenridge Ski Resort.

"It felt so good," Pearce, 24, told People. "It just feels so much like before. There's nothing really new for me that I have to relearn, so that was nice. I'm really in the right state to be snowboarding right now."

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Pearce, 24, was training for the Olympics when on Christmas Eve, 2009, a stunt went terribly wrong and he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

He is still recovering and had an eye surgery in early November. " Even though my eyes are a lot better now, they're not perfect, so I have been doing exercises with them. And I've been in the gym, working out. I've been getting everything together and working on my balance," he said.

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Pearce still has a long road ahead and is candid about the challenges.

"A brain injury is always a brain injury, and unfortunately I'm always going to be a brain-injured kid," Pearce said.

But that's not stopping him from speaking out on the issue. He's become an advocate for more education and research about traumatic brain injuries.

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by billionairefrie...
Posted Mon, 12/26/2011 - 5:09am

Happy for him. He'll never go back to professional snowboarding with that kind of injury so I wouldn't worry about him dong it again.

by psychomama
Posted Sun, 12/25/2011 - 9:09pm

great, your name should be negative...this kid is awesome.the work he has, and is doing for himself is amazing. what a trooper. then, too, to contribute to others afflicted with brain injuries, and go back to boarding..what a great guy.

by mous
Posted Sun, 12/25/2011 - 7:01pm