John A. Foust Jr., a star wrestler at Great Valley High School who was planning to attend West Chester University in the fall, was reported to be in a coma last week after a construction accident.
Foust, 19, of Central Avenue, Malvern, fell about six feet and injured his head on a cement block when scaffolding on which he was standing collapsed Aug. 18, according to his mother, Edna Foust. She said her son had suffered a fractured skull and had been comatose since the accident.
Foust was listed in stable condition yesterday in the intensive-care unit at Chester County Hospital, West Chester, according to hospital spokeswoman Donna Pennington.
Foust's mother said her son's doctors were trying to gauge the extent of brain damage. He has reflex abilities and showed slight improvement Thursday night, when he breathed for a short time without the help of a respirator, she said.
"We're hoping and praying," EdnaFoust said.
Foust was working for his father, John A. Foust Sr., a contractor, at the time of the fall. They were building the chimney on a house in a development on Dutton Mill Road near West Chester. The senior Foust was higher than his son on the scaffold when it collapsed, according to Edna Foust. She said her husband suffered a cut on his leg that required four stitches.
The cause of the scaffolding failure was not known, Edna Foust said.
There was no phone at the construction site, she said, so Foust's father
put him in a truck and took him to the emergency room at Chester County Hospital.
Foust graduated in June from Great Valley High School, where he wrestled at 108 pounds. He had a season record of 26-3 and advanced to the state wrestling tournament in Hershey in March but was eliminated in the first round of the competition.
His mother said Foust had been accepted to West Chester University, where he intended to wrestle and study business.
Foust's mother said he was receiving up to 80 visitors an evening at the hospital. "Just about all of Great Valley has been there," she said. Edna Foust said they were being allowed to stand at his bedside four at a time.
"We really don't know right now what's going to happen," she said. "It's up to God."
