The Fosters

Professional:

I was born in Zimbabwe in 1972 (then "Rhodesia"). After immigrating to South Africa in 1989, I completed my schooling in Port Shepstone, on the South Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

In the early '90s, whilst working as an assistant in the municipal Protection Services, I regularly came in contact with the provincial ambulance services. When I approached them to enroll on their Basic Ambulance Attendant (EMT) course I was invited to join their voluntary program. Soon I was spending most of my off-days volunteering for the Emergency Medical & Rescue Services (EMRS).

In 1993 I was invited to join the EMRS permanently. The early '90s provided a wealth of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) experience for me, as at that time South Africa was undergoing extreme civil unrest during the last days of Apartheid. Sadly, even after Apartheid ended, a culture of crime and violence remains in South Africa to this day. All of this contributed to a rapid growth in EMS experience.

In 1995 I completed my intermediate level training to become an "Ambulance Emergency Attendant". Shortly after that I was fortunate to be enrolled on the Critical Care Attendant (Paramedic) course. This advanced life support level course built on my existing knowledge & skill base through exposure to the tutelage of well known South African EMS gurus like Drs. Stuart Boyd,  Anton van Dellen, George Dimopoulas amongst others. We were also exposed to a wealth of EMS experience at the hands of veteran Paramedics & EMS instructors.

After qualifying in 1997 I was able to solidify my training with real world experience. The shortage of advanced life support providers in the country also meant that I had to provide care for extended periods as a single medic, an intimidating thing for a medic with a new qualification!

A long-time friend who was working in the neighboring country of Botswana, invited me to visit him in 1999, and whilst on holiday I was offered a full-time position under contract by Medical Rescue International (MRI), a private company based in Gaborone - the capital of Botswana. From 1999 through 2005, I practiced as a paramedic, then later as a flight paramedic finally being appointed as Base Manager for the company.

Although I was having a great deal of exposure to a different style of EMS, I felt that I was missing out on valuable experience to be gained in truly international system settings. So, in 2005 with my family, I made the jump north to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where I was appointed Paramedic Manager for Saad Specialist Hospital. Saad is an exemplary healthcare facility, and to date has completed three international Health Standard Accreditations (JCI, CCHSA & ACHSI). Exposure to each accreditation process as one of the management team was a huge learning experience. In addition our department is developing a truly international flavor with the unique training and backgrounds the different nationalities of our staff bring to the division.

Please take the time to browse around and then Contact Me.

Our Growing Family

As mentioned above I made the move to Botswana in 1999. This is where, in 2000, I met my wife Lenice in the small remote town of Maun. Since our marriage in 2001 we were blessed with a daughter, Kiara, and recently whilst here in Saudi Arabia with the birth of our son, Nathaniel.

Although being away from our families is harder than we originally thought it would be, it has taught us to appreciate family as no other experience can. And although our families sometimes get frustrated with us being so far away (especially the grandparents) they have still given us all the support we could hope for.

Take the time to look at a few of our cherished pictures on our Family Gallery page.