Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Oct 27, 2021

Boster Keeps Battling For Parkinson’s Patients
FROM PAGE 4
OCTOBER 27, 2021
HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
“Supporting the patients and helping them live the best life they can is our No. 1 mission,” says the man who spends much of his time ad- vocating nationally on policy issues in coordination with the Michael J. Fox Founda- tion for Parkinson’s research, as well as serving as an am- bassador for the Parkinson’s Foundation, Davis Phinney Foundation and more.
a time right in the middle of COVID. It’s a place where people — especially the newly diagnosed — can come and get information. When you’re trying to accept a condition like Parkinson’s,
Boster notes the local as- sociation conducts support groups, offers education and exercise sessions (which include boxing and cardio work), and pushes for ongo- ing research into a cure for Parkinson’s.
(Above) Exercise physiologist Amber Curtiss encourages patient Raymond Kurosu to keep his eyes fixed on the moving hand pads. (Inset) In his time as president of Hawai‘i Parkinson Association, Jerry Boster has increased membership and support for the organization, and more.
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“We also started a couple more unusual things. We started up a choir. It’s been very successful,” he adds.
never get off the ground due to lack of volun- teers, “which is one of the things that motivates
Boster emphasizes the “able” in disable, and seeks to raise awareness about the condition.
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“Boxing for Parkinson’s is different from a regular boxing class at a gym. Many times, it is one-on-one with just the instructor and the person with Parkinson’s. The workout is all about building strength, dexterity and stami- na, not actually boxing in the ring against somebody else,” he notes.
or any other major medical condition, you’re struggling. And you don’t want to have to deal with trying to do all this stuff on your own,” Boster shares.
me to volunteer for the trials,” Boster notes.
Originally from Southern California, Boster has called the ‘Āhuimanu neighborhood in Windward O‘ahu home for the past 13 years.
During his tenure as pres- ident, Boster has increased support, membership and more for the association. His efforts culminated with last year’s establishment of the Hawai‘i Parkinson’s Asso- ciation Resource Center. Lo- cated at St. Francis Medical Center of Hawaiʻi in Liliha, the center offers free infor- mation for new and existing patients.
“The other thing we’re trying to do is expand the number of support groups that we have — talk-sto- ry, caregiver and exercise groups — to reach out to as many Parkinson’s patients as we can in Hawai‘i. There’s about 7,000 diagnosed patients and we estimate about 3,000 undiagnosed patients,” he explains.
Military veterans suffering traumatic brain injuries from explosives, along with the ex- tensive use of insecticides and pesticides, have been linked with Parkinson’s symptoms, according to Boster.
“We came here for the mil- itary, but we stayed because of the people and the ‘āina,” he notes. “We’ve become part of our community, and part of that is giving back.”
“I’ ve been president for about four-and-a-half years, and the biggest thing we did in November of last year, was we opened up a brick- and-mortar resource center,
When he was diagnosed as a Parkinson’s patient, he firmly decided to “make things happen” and joined the effort to find a cure for the condition, including par- ticipating in a drug trial.
Boster has worked at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command as a federal civilian employ- ee for the past seven years, and his current job is as an analyst there. October is Na- tional Disability Employment Awareness Month, and in 2018, Boster was selected for the Secretary of the Defense Award for Outstanding Civil- ians with Disabilities award. When giving presentations,
“The New Oxford Ameri- can Dictionary defines a hero as ʻa person who is admired or idealized for courage, out- standing achievements, or noble qualities,’” emphasizes Bowden.
He remembers how diffi- cult it was for him personally that there was no such infor- mation center available at the time of his diagnosis in 2013.
He calculates that the es- timated economic burden to the state is around $52,000 per Parkinson’s patient, or $350 million total as of 2019.
Soon after moving to the islands, Boster joined a group of University of Hawai‘i football fans who made him and his wife feel like ‘ohana.
Many drug treatment trials
“Jerry Boster epitomizes that definition every day of his life.”
“One in 8 Parkinson’s pa- tients is a veteran like my- self,” he shares.
Tim Bowden first came to know Boster and his wife over a decade ago at a foot- ball tailgate party for the UH Warriors.
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