All Heart: Wall’s Garrett Foster Receives Lombardi Award

Not only was senior Garrett Foster proud to be Wall’s recipient of the prestigious Lombardi Award this year, he was happy to be alive to enjoy the moment.

About 19 months before he accepted his “Block of Granite’’ trophy on Thursday night at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel as part of the 39^th annual Lombardi Awards dinner, Foster was being rushed in an ambulance to a local hospital with his life potentially in jeopardy.

It was a far cry from the smile creasing his face on Thursday night after being one of 27 Monmouth County linemen who were selected by their respective coaches for reflecting the ideals and beliefs of legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi at the annual dinner sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Monmouth County and the Center for Vocational Rehabilitation.

During Wall’s season opener against Central Regional on Sept. 12, 2009, Foster, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior defensive end, was battling all game with Central offensive lineman Adam Skidmore, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound behemoth who would go on to play at Tulane University. In the third quarter, Foster started seeing spots and feeling dizzy.

Foster was born with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart condition in which there is an extra electrical pathway in the heart that can send an electrical signal to the heart ventricles too soon and lead to rapid heart rate, according to the American Heart Association.

He had avoided playing organized sports while growing up other than a short-lived Pop Warner stint that ended with torn ligaments in his neck, but said he had never experienced any issues with his condition. He said that on that night against Central in 2009, his heart rate skyrocketed to 270 beats per minute.

“The doctors had always said it was never enough to put me in that state until that night against Central because of all the adrenaline from being out there in our first game,’’ he said. “It was like being overly exhausted. I couldn’t catch my breath, and then it got worse when I sat on the bench.’’

An oxygen mask was placed over his face and an ambulance was summoned.

“I didn’t know the severity of it at the time,’’ he said. “I didn’t think my life was in danger at all until my dad explained it to me afterward.’’

Foster said he was transferred to a hospital in Newark, where he had to undergo immediate surgery for his condition. He said there was a complication during the surgery and his heart went into third-degree, or complete, heart block, which is when the heart's electrical signal doesn't pass from the upper to the lower chambers, according to the AHA.

It results in ventricles contracting and pumping blood at a much slower rate and runs the risk of causing cardiac arrest and death if a pacemaker is not inserted. Foster said the surgery shocked his heart back into its natural rhythm, but there was still the danger that he would need a pacemaker and would never be able to play competitive sports again.

“My doctor was very forward with me about everything going on,’’ he said. “Luckily, in the end I did not need a pacemaker because the surgery corrected everything. I was scared at first, definitely.

“I didn’t think something like that was going to happen again, but I didn’t think I was going to get back to the point I was at in football.’’

Foster missed three games of his junior season and lost 25 pounds in the process because he could not work out or do anything that would raise his heart rate for four weeks after the surgery. Once he was cleared to play again, he slowly tried to work through the frustration of reclaiming his skills.

“The main part of my game was the speed rush around the end, but my reaction time was just gone,’’ he said. “My coaches were skeptical, and also scared that (another heart episode) was going to happen to me again.’’

“Garrett worked so hard to come back his junior year but obviously we were concerned first and foremost about his health,’’ said Wall head coach Chris Barnes. “We know he wanted to come back right away, but we wanted to make sure he did it the right way and that any precautionary measures were taken.’’

He was worked into the defensive line rotation for a few plays in a loss to Middletown South on Oct. 16, 2009, and by the time the Crimson Knights were playing Brick in an NJSIAA consolation game on Nov. 16, he was back in the lineup full time. He no longer was serving as the extra tight end in certain formations or playing on special teams, but he was in on every snap at defensive end.

“That was tiring, but it felt great,’’ he said.

While undergoing periodic check-ups on his heart, Foster threw himself into preparing for his senior season, although he needed surgery this past summer to have his tonsils removed. He turned in a solid senior season for Wall, which reached the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III semifinals and finished 7-4 after having missed the playoffs the previous two seasons.

“Garrett just worked extremely hard to improve and to come back,’’ Barnes said. “It’s a tribute to his character and his determination that he was able to return and become such an important part of our team.’’

It all led to the moment on Thursday night when Foster joined a proud tradition of Wall linemen who have taken home the Lombardi Award. It also may have put a cap on his football career, as he said he may try to walk on at the University of Colorado but is not sure if his football career will continue.

“It’s kind of upsetting,’’ he said. “This is the last time I may be seen as a player before moving on to becoming a spectator.’’

While his football career may possibly be over, it also taught him that not even a potentially fatal condition could stop him from achieving his goals.

“As soon as the doctor told me I was cleared, I was so set that I could play that I just pushed the thought of it ever happening again out of my mind,’’ he said. “It kind of showed me what I was capable of.’’