Nerve disorder leaves ex-champ paralyzed
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Jacky Buder, a former world champion bodyboarder, has been in the Queen's Medical Center for nearly a month because of a rare nerve disorder.
Buder has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and is paralyzed from the neck down.
"I think everybody is just in shock right now," said professional baseball player Benny Agbayani, who has been close friends with Buder since childhood. "The frustrating part is that we don't really know what caused it."
Buder complained of back problems about a month ago, and then the paralysis quickly set in.
"It just happened really fast, kind of like a freak accident, and now he can't even talk," Agbayani said.
According to friends and family members, Buder has his mental capacities, and is communicating with his eyes.
A donation account has been set up to assist bodyboarder Jacky Buder and his family. Donations can be made to the "Friends and Family of Jacky Buder" account at any Bank of Hawaii branch. For more information: www.jackybuder.com.
Fellow bodyboarder Kainoa McGee described Buder's situation as "at a standstill right now."
How to help Jacky Buder
"He's not getting better, but he's not getting worse," said McGee, who graduated with Buder from Kaimuki High in 1989. "We're all just praying for him right now, and God willing, it will turn around."
Buder, who is married and has a young daughter, is expected to be hospitalized for many more months.
"There's a chance of recovery, and that's what we're hoping for right now," Agbayani said. "But it's obviously going to be a long battle."
Buder won the bodyboarding world amateur championship in 1990 in Japan. He is the only Hawai'i bodyboarder ever to win that title.
He turned professional a year later and gained international recognition and respect as a "drop-knee" bodyboarder — riding waves with a one-knee stance rather than lying prone.
In 1999, he won the professional drop-knee world tour championship. He retired from professional competition a year later.
"He's easily one of the top guys all-time for drop-knee," McGee said.
Most recently, Buder was working in construction and is the owner of an apparel company called Barefoot League.
McGee said plans are in the works to have a fund-raising bodyboard contest.
McGee went through a similar experience in 1999 when he was in a coma because of viral encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain.
"He was there when I went through my scare, so now I want to help him any way I can," McGee said.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
