Former Milo man celebrates a special 50th birthday

MILO —  Charles “Chuck” Foss recently was honored for his 50th birthday by a party given for him by his family members. This is a special occasion because 34 years ago Chuck was injured in a nighttime shooting incident and was left paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on his own with a C-2 spinal cord injury. Many of Chuck’s former classmates, high school and middle school teachers, friends and family attended the event held at the new Kiwanis building.

Contributed photo

50TH BIRTHDAY FOR CHUCK FOSS — Former Milo resident Chuck Foss, front, recently celebrated his 50th birthday at the Three Rivers Kiwanis Building. Pictured with Foss is, from left, his sister, Becky Smith, father Larry Foss, mother Gini Foss and sister Sheri Conley.

Chuck, the son of Larry and Gini Foss of Milo, had been on a little hunting trip with two friends and they were at a camp on the Sebec River in January. One of Chuck’s hunting buddies shot at him and the bullet went through his neck.

The Milo Fire Department  responded and had a hard time getting to him since the boys were on an island and had walked into the camp through the snow. The rescue team had to use a sleigh and snowmobile to get Chuck out. It required repeated cardiopulmonary resuscitation to keep him alive. After the shooting one of the boys flagged down a snowmobiler that was passing by and he traveled to Milo and got help.  

Chuck was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and his parents were told that he would not live through the night, the doctor had a very negative outlook for Chuck. But after surviving a few months in ICU, his rehab doctor, Dr. Philip Mossman, told the family about this new procedure that would enable Chuck to breathe without being on a ventilator, but Chuck would have to go to Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Conn. for the surgery.

Chuck was flown to New Haven and spent almost a year there. The procedure of having phrenic pacers implanted was new and the process had to be taken slowly. Because of the cost of traveling to Connecticut every weekend the people in Milo and the surrounding areas had many fund-raising events for the family. Eventually some of the money was used to buy a wheelchair-accessible van for Chuck. Chuck is one of very few people in the world who use the phrenic pacers 24 hours a day on both lungs. He has tolerated the procedure well.

   Chuck was a freshman at Penquis Valley High School at the time of the accident, and he was tutored in the hospital to finish his freshman and sophomore years. He returned home in the spring of 1982 and finished his junior and senior years. After graduation he spent a year at Eastern Maine Community College to learn computer programming. He eventually moved to Portland to find a job. A UNUM programming analyst since 1990, he works at the office in Portland three days a week and from home two days a week.

  Chuck has done very well with his life considering his disability. He had his own home built in Saco in 1992 and then got married to Robyn Greene in 1994. Chuck needs care for bathing and dressing, and once he is up in his wheelchair he is ready for the day. He has support at the workplace for any personal needs he may have. Chuck has been to Las Vegas twice, to Florida a few times, a cruise to Bermuda, Washington, D.C., New York City twice and Arizona. Flying is a challenge but he gets it done. He has belonged to many organizations and has been a mentor to many handicapped people.

This birthday party was to let the many townspeople, who helped and supported him many years ago, know how well he is doing and to thank them again.