Welcome to our CaringBridge website for Steve Foster. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We will regularly update any changes in Steve’s condition here. We appreciate your support, prayers, and words of hope and encouragement more than we can express. Thank you for visiting! PLEASE NOTE: Steve's page is for communication purposes, seeking prayer and well wishes. No financial donations to CaringBridge that are automatically prompted by the website are expected or needed at this time!
Background story: Steve is (simply put) a hidden jem, and a Jack-of-all-Trades. He was driving a bus for autistic kids, announcing Hinsdale Central Football and many other games, and is a prolific cameo actor in film and TV spots, filmed in Chicagoland. He is an active mainstay in both Compass Church and Hope Church LaGrange. He is everyone's best friend they haven't met yet!
All that know Steve, know that Steve is stubborn! He has Sleep Apnea, and didn't like it. He was provided a CPAP and didn't like to use it. Fast forward about 18 months of not using it, and Steve had a back pain so distinct that he thought it was another kidney stone. At 5:00 pm on Saturday, September 18th, he was with his mother and not otherwise showing any concerning signs of ill health.
However, at 7:45 pm that same evening he left a voice message at his mother’s house saying he was going to go to the emergency room, because he believed pain he was experiencing was another kidney stone. THANKS BE TO GOD HE WENT TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM ...
Sometime after getting to the Emergency Department he became lethargic, nearly falling asleep. Soon he was in respiratory distress, and they tried to provide high-flow oxygen to him, but he kept losing consciousness.
Apparently, he did not react well and soon he went into respiratory failure. During emergency intubation, which was a challenge, he slid into respiratory failure that led to cardiac arrest. The AMITA Hinsdale ER team was able to revive him twice within eight minutes, but he could no longer breathe on his own. Steve did not suffer a heart attack and has shown no indication of blockages or blood clots, but rather his whole cardiac system was overwhelmed by his prolonged respiratory dysfunction and resulting acute respiratory failure.
He was placed on a ventilator and ultimately moved to an ICU room, where the goal was to try to increase his Blood Oxygen levels, lower his blood CO2 (critically elevated due to prolonged sleep apnea and respiratory distress) and get him breathing on his own again.
So that's where he is today — the ICU at AMITA Healthcare Hinsdale Hospital. Steve’s vitals are otherwise stable while on the ventilator, and while medically sedated, he is physically responsive, which is a positive sign in terms of neurological function.
We know Steve already has an army of prayer warriors, but we want to assemble a Prayer Force unlike any He has ever seen! Steve would do nothing less for everyone else with which he’s ever crossed paths.
Respectfully, The Foster Family
10/01/21: After consulting with the Drs. and Palliative Care experts and among ourselves, Steve's family is comforted in the knowledge that we are bringing Steve Home. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done ... (Matthew 6:9).
10/04/21: Steve is Home! He was pronounced at 21:12 and generously provided a bountiful harvest to Gift of Hope. Steve is our HERO!
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