[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 7, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S3537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO KEVIN PEARCE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Vermont athletes are no strangers to the 
U.S. Winter Olympic team. In 2009, the Hartland, VT, raised Kevin 
Pearce was readying himself to be a member of that team when tragedy 
struck. During a routine half-pipe training session for the 2010 
Olympics, Kevin suffered a traumatic brain injury and was nearly killed 
when he crashed and struck his head. Since then, Kevin, with the 
support of his family, has worked to recover and heal from that 
terrible accident. I have heard firsthand from Kevin how instrumental 
his younger brother David was in providing positive feedback and 
encouragement as he completed his physical therapy. Together with his 
older brother, Adam, Kevin started the Love Your Brain Foundation, 
which offers support to survivors of traumatic brain injuries, their 
families, and their caregivers.
  The Love Your Brain Foundation recently held its free annual retreat 
in Lincoln, VT. The foundation's mission extends beyond simply 
providing support to survivors; it also works to raise broader public 
awareness about the condition. Kevin, Adam, and those who support the 
mission of the Love Your Brain Foundation believe that traditional 
treatment options, as well as alternative methods of care, can help 
survivors of traumatic brain injuries lead full and healthy lives. The 
foundation's annual retreat enables people from around the country, and 
some from Canada, who are dealing with traumatic brain injuries to 
share their own personal stories and to sharpen skills in workshops 
focused on music, yoga, and nutrition education.
  Whether the result of sporting accidents or from a vehicle crash, 
injuries sustained on the hiking trail or the battlefield, there is 
still much to be learned about traumatic brain injuries and how best to 
help those who sustain them recover. That is why the work of the Love 
Your Brain Foundation makes a real difference.
  Kevin Pearce's life forever changed the day of his accident. He and 
his family have taken that tragedy and turned it into an opportunity to 
advance public awareness. His story is one we can all be inspired by, 
and his road to recovery is one we should all from and seek to emulate.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a May 28 article written 
by Vermont Associated Press reporter Lisa Rathke, entitled ``Injured 
snowboarder helps brain injury survivors,'' be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Associated Press, May 28, 2016]

            Injured Snowboarder Helps Brain Injury Survivors

                            (By Lisa Rathke)

       Lincoln--A near-fatal halfpipe crash while training for the 
     2010 Olympics ended Kevin Pearce's snowboarding career and 
     changed his life forever. Six years later, Pearce, 28, 
     continues to cope with his traumatic brain injury that he 
     will carry with him for the rest of his life and he's helping 
     other survivors do the same.
       Pearce, who grew up in Vermont, and his brother started the 
     Love Your Brain Foundation to support traumatic brain injury 
     survivors and caregivers. The foundation provides workshops 
     for yoga teachers to cater their classes to brain injury 
     survivors. It also offers a free yearly retreat for those 
     with traumatic brain injury and their caregivers that is 
     taking place this week in Lincoln, Vermont, and hopes to 
     offer retreats in other parts of the country.
       The foundation raises money to cover these activities and 
     is working on educating young athletes about the importance 
     of ``loving their brains''' and preventing concussions.
       About 50 people from around the country and Canada are 
     attending the third annual event that also features nutrition 
     education, art, music and other mindfulness activities. 
     Attendees can also share their personal stories.
       ``There was a huge missing piece to traumatic brain 
     injuries and there's such an unknown for so many people of 
     what to do after they sustain this injury,'' said Pearce, 
     following a morning yoga class at the retreat in a barnlike 
     building on a hillside.
       Alternatives such as acupuncture, yoga and meditation are 
     proving helpful to traumatic brain injury survivors in their 
     recoveries, said Dr. Roger Knakal, medical director of 
     physical medicine and rehabilitation and the University of 
     Vermont Medical Center.
       One of the hardest parts about traumatic brain injuries is 
     that they are invisible injuries, said Pearce's brother Adam.
       The biggest eye-opener was how isolated people can become 
     from a brain injury, he said. ``When you have a brain injury, 
     you feel so not normal,'' said Pearce. ``You're thrown back 
     into the regular world. You're expected to be as you were 
     before this. We're not able to do that because we're now a 
     new person.''
       Pearce was considered, along with Shaun White, to be one of 
     America's top athletes in the sport at the time of his crash. 
     On New Year's Eve in 2009, he struck his head during half-
     pipe training in Utah. He was in critical care for a month 
     and then acute care for two weeks before moving to a 
     rehabilitation center in Denver. He had to relearn how to 
     walk, talk, even swallow. The family then moved back to 
     Vermont where he continued rehab.
       Pearce, who now lives in Bend, Oregon, continues to do 
     cognitive therapy and is seeing eye therapists in Chicago to 
     help with vision problems. He maintains a busy schedule, 
     speaking to various groups about his story and the importance 
     of ``loving your brain'' and showing the 2013 documentary 
     about him called ``Crash Reel.''
       Ari Havusha, 20, of Vancouver, returned to the retreat for 
     the third time this year. He said he suffered several severe 
     concussions and an eye injury as a teen soccer player and 
     another severe concussion later during a college fall. He 
     lives with a constant headache.
       Havusha withdrew from McGill University in Montreal and 
     returned home, where he became anxious and depressed. His 
     mother pointed to the Love Your Brain retreat and right away, 
     Havusha said, he knew he had to do it. ``It was a huge 
     turning point for me,'' he said. ``I saw other people and 
     their traumatic stories and I was able to connect with other 
     people. Suddenly I was kind of lifted out of that isolation I 
     felt so heavily.''

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