Snowboarder Kevin Pearce honored by Denver's Craig Hospital

Craig Hospital's 2014 Christopher and Dana Reeve Inspiration Award went to snow-boarder Kevin Pearce, left. His parents, Pia and Simon Pearce, are pictured with him.

In 2009, when snowboarder Kevin Pearce suffered a severe traumatic brain injury while training for the U.S. Olympic trials, it was apparent that it was going to take a miracle to restore any sense of normalcy to his life.

The kind of miracle that his family found at Craig Hospital in Englewood, where treatment from a skilled team of doctors and therapists have brought the elite athlete to a point where he can function quite well, thank you very much.

Nicholas and Christine Classick were among the 1,400 guests at Craig Hospital's PUSH dinner. (Photos by David Zalubowski, Special to The Denver Post)

"I'm nowhere near being completely recovered," Pearce told the 1,400 who'd gathered at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center on Feb. 28 for PUSH, a dinner where he received Craig's highest honor, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Inspiration Award. "It's a continuing process."

Amazing as his recovery is an HBO documentary "The Crash Reel" tells the story quite well it's not sufficient to allow him to snowboard competitively. "Right now, it's all about loving my brain," Pearce said, "and figuring out the next path for my life."

A path, he added, that focuses on giving back.

Toward that end, he has started the Kevin Pearce Fund to support organizations that serve those affected by brain injury, Down syndrome and other challenges. The fund's first disbursement was a $10,000 gift to the Craig Hospital Foundation.

PUSH, Craig's signature fundraiser, was started by commercial Realtor Art Seiden as a means of giving thanks for the care his late wife, Julie, had received there. The 13th edition of it was chaired by FirstBank Holding Co. president John Ikard and netted $1.1 million.

Doug Fulton, who is in community relations for Kroenke Sports, and Craig Hospital president Mike Fordyce.

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Snowboarder Kevin Pearce honored by Denver's Craig Hospital