DETROIT – Rob Foster worked tirelessly for months as a medical resident on the frontlines at Ascension Hospital.
He’s getting rewarded for it in a big way -- Foster is headed to Super Bowl LV in Tampa as a special guest of the NFL.
While he lives in Metro Detroit, Foster grew up in Tampa and rooted for the Buccaneers.
“They did win the Super Bowl once in 2010,” Foster said. “Even then, I was just sitting there in amazement. I had no idea like what to do.”
Foster has spent the last year in the surgical ICU at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit working with COVID patients.
“Doing all of their orders their medications, their ventilator settings, anything that they needed it was us doing it,” Foster said.
When his dad, a Buccaneers season-ticket holder since 1976, heard the Super Bowl was sending vaccinated health care workers to the big game, he called his ticket rep.
“He’s like, ‘Hey, my son has been treating COVID patients up in Detroit. Is there any way we can get on some type of list?’ and she said, ‘Yeah, absolutely,’” Foster recalled.
His dad came through and Foster will be going to the big game Sunday.
“When they let me know, I was in such shock. My heart was racing,” Foster said. “I was like ‘Oh, my God. I can’t believe that I get to go to the Super Bowl.’ Not only a Super Bowl in Tampa -- where I’m from -- but also to see the Bucs who are my favorite team.”
Foster said when he gets to Tampa Friday, his dad is getting a big hug.
“He’s been vaccinated too and I’ve been vaccinated by our hospital here,” Foster said. “Luckily, when I do fly into Tampa, I will be able to see him.”
But he will be at the game solo with a cutout of his girlfriend along with thousands of life-saving health care heroes.
“I think it’ll be really cool to be there with a bunch of other people that are in a similar position,” Foster said. “And we can all kind of relate to each other, even though we don’t know each other nor have we probably ever met.”
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