Neuro Note 1

"A brain injury is like a fingerprint, no two are alike" 
Kevin Pearce - Professional Snowboarder

Kevin Pearce was a professional snowboarder at his prime and preparing for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. He was practicing a move called a double cork that was going to win him gold. On December 31, 2009, at the bottom of the half-pipe where he was medically airlifted away, Kevin experienced a traumatic brain injury. He spent the next 36 days in critical care in Utah with no memory or recollection of that stay. He was then transported to Craig Hospital in Denver where he spent three and a half months puzzling doctors with what his outcome would be. One of his family members said it was frustrating because he would pinch with his left hand but then could not do the same thing on his right, leaving doctors stumped as to whether he was paralyzed or not. For so long, there was no change but then one day everything changed the progress began to pick up. He started going to therapy more and more and began walking again. 

Retrieved from: https://vtskiandride.com/local-profile-love-brain/

Kevin's entire speech had an underlying message about how the brain is such a mystery and no two brain injuries are alike. After learning more about other injuries, for instance, spinal cord injuries, this is a common theme. Doctors told Kevin that he injured his eyes in the accident and it is not likely to expect single vision in every direction, then another doctor told him that they could fix it. There is so much that is unknown about the brain and Kevin took this is an opportunity to try even harder to recover from his injuries, even though this is the toughest battle he has fought to date. Training for the Olympics or X-Games was a cakewalk compared to him trying every single day to heal his brain. 

Kevin uses his platform to talk all about his brain injury and to other people out there like him. He has retired from professional snowboarding (the hardest decision he ever had to make) but after a quick Instagram search, he still occasionally gets back on the board and the surfboard and meditates and does yoga. He mentioned that when he was younger he would think about getting an injury and how he would always bounce right back and be stronger than ever. He has broken many bones in his career and the timeline of care is easy and expected and the person can tell when they are healed and ready. This cannot be done with a brain injury. There are no messages going to Kevin saying "this hurts", "you have a brain injury" or "okay you are healed now". So he takes each day as a new reason to educate people and live the most mindfull way he can. 

Retrieved from: http://www.loveyourbrain.com/about

Retrieved from: http://www.loveyourbrain.com/about

I chose this resource for my neuro note because I remember watching the Olympic games and x-games every year with my dad. I also was very interested in the culture that surrounded snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing. I grew up by the ocean and it seemed like that was the sport of choice for so many of my friends. Kevin explains very clearly how he never felt having a brain injury and there was no way he was able to tell when he was healed because it is an ongoing process that there is still so much that is unknown. He also decided himself that he was going to cure his double vision because no one else seemed to be able to do it - he's very headstrong. This Tedx Talk was short and to the point but that doesn't minimize the point that was being made. I now follow him on Instagram because he is so compassionate and does a lot of the same things that I do every day. Kevin has started a non-profit organization called the Love Your Brain Foundation. The foundation aims to "improve quality of life for affected by brain injury (kevinpearce.com)

Until Next Time,
Sam the Student

References:
Talks, T. (2017, May 04). A brain injury is like a fingerprint, no two are alike | Kevin Pearce | TEDxLincolnSquare. 
           Retrieved July 17, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZH7-r1Wy9o

Official website of Kevin Pearce. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2019, from http://www.kevinpearce.com/