Dad’s pledge to walk his daughter down the aisle
A father who was saved by a passer-by when he collapsed in the street is determined to walk his daughter down the aisle.
Trevor Foster underwent major surgery on Monday after suffering a cardiac arrest near Lockmeadow complex in Maidstone last month.
The 60-year-old driving instructor is recovering after a quadruple heart bypass and being fitted with an internal defibrillator to restart his heart if needed.
Mr Foster still has a long way to go on his road to recovery but his first aim is to be able to give daughter Laura away at her wedding in just two weeks.
Laura and fiancé Andrew Mortimore are tying the knot at The Knowle in Higham on Saturday, November 19.
Miss Foster, 33, from Rochester, said: “He is determined to be there for some or all of the day if he can. The most important thing is that he is there to walk me down the aisle.
“He has been writing his speech in hospital so the back-up plan is for someone else to read it for him, but we are really hoping he will be there to read it himself.”
As reported exclusively in the Kent Messenger last month, personal trainer Ricky Potter helped Mr Foster when he collapsed outside a motorcyle shop in Hart Street on September 26.
The 28-year-old from Strood performed CPR until paramedics arrived, saving his life.
Mr Foster, who runs Pilot Driving School, spent several weeks in intensive care at Maidstone Hospital before being transferred to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
Miss Foster said: “We all thought of dad as healthy.
“He worked long hours and he was playing hockey at the weekend, so it was a massive shock.”
Mr Foster has been playing for Rochester’s Holcombe Hockey Club for 20 years and before that he played for Gillingham Anchorians.
His family has been overwhelmed with cards and getwell wishes.
Miss Foster added: “We were reading out the messages to dad when he was asleep and then when he woke up, we went through them all with him.”
Mr Foster is hoping to meet Mr Potter, a former RAF gunner, in the next few weeks so he can thank him in person.