Former Shriners Children’s Chicago Patient Targets Second Gold Medal at Paralympics

Former Shriners Children’s Chicago patient John Boie was paralyzed with a T4/5 injury after an incident on his family farm when he was just 2 years old, but Boie’s parents still held him to the highest of expectations while growing up as a farm kid.

Boie’s upbringing of grit and determination translated to the wheelchair basketball court, where he will be going for a second-consecutive gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Paralympics this summer.

Boie started going to Shriners Children’s when he was 6 years old, and remembers the extreme friendliness of everyone within the nonprofit healthcare system. Boie, a Wisconsin native, traveled to Shriners Children’s Chicago twice a year and underwent physical therapy and occupational therapy while also visiting with different doctors. Throughout the many visits, life-long relationships were formed.

“Dr. Lawrence Vogel was one of my favorite doctors there,” Boie said. “He actually came to my gold medal party after winning in Tokyo, and that meant a lot to me. When I would go to Shriners Children’s, there was always this whiteboard that included a list of the doctors and specialists that were going to visit you that day. I remember everyone being very hands-on, and they would remember things about you. As a kid, that really made you feel important.”

Growing up, Boie’s parents still handed him jobs to do around the farm, whether that was milking cows, picking rocks or stacking hay bales. Being held to that standard helped Boie in his athletic career. The two-time Paralympian originally struggled to make the A team for U.S. wheelchair basketball for many years. He was cut nine years in a row but continued to try, and now Boie is an integral part of a U.S. program that’s going for its third-straight gold as a team. Getting out of his comfort zone is something Boie grew up with, and he hopes to instill that in future generations of adaptive athletes.

“When I coach summer camps and talk to parents, I ask them to let me challenge their kids,” Boie said. “Giving them more independence and things to do can be really beneficial like it was with me. I would encourage anybody who is thinking about trying a new sport, or trying anything new in general, to get out of their comfort zone. If you don’t like it, then great, you ruled something out. If you do like it, you might’ve found something you’ll love for the rest of your life.”

One of Boie’s teammates, Brian Bell, is a fellow former Shriners Children’s patient. Boie and Bell are good friends and can be seen together both on and off the court. The two players tend to play offense and defense on the same side, and Boie said having another past Shriners Children’s patient with him on the team has allowed them to connect really well.