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Father of bride Trevor Foster is writing speech from hospital bed after cardiac arrest

00:01, 02 November 2016

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 is undergoing major surgery on Monday after suffering a cardiac arrest last month. He had a double heart bypass and was fitted with a cardiac implant 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 able to give daughter Laura away at her wedding in just three weeks’ time.

Trevor Foster with his grandson Noah
Trevor Foster with his grandson Noah

Laura and fiancé Andrew Mortimore are tying the knot at The Knowle in Higham on 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 last month personal trainer Ricky Potter rushed to help Mr Foster when he collapsed in Maidstone, near the Lockmeadow complex. The 28-year-old personal trainer from Strood performed CPR until paramedics arrived, saving his life.

Mr Foster’s grateful family turned to social media to track down Mr Potter and found him after their Facebook post was shared more than 4,000 times.

The 60-year-old driving instructor, who runs Pilot Driving School, spent several weeks in intensive care at Maidstone hospital and is now at 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.”

Personal trainer Ricky Potter saved the life of Trevor Foster when suffered a cardiac arrest
Personal trainer Ricky Potter saved the life of Trevor Foster when suffered a cardiac arrest

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 get well wishes, many from former driving pupils and old team mates.

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.

“He looked quite touched. It has been really nice to get so many messages.”

Mr Foster is hoping to meet Mr Potter, a former RAF Gunner, in the next few weeks, so he can thank him in person.

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