by Laura Garber
Team Frosty, a non-profit organization bringing awareness and raising funds for ALS, will host their fourth annual Frosty Olympics on the south side of the Hermosa Beach Pier on Saturday, October 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mike “Frosty” Foster bleeds green and white. His friendships and strong competitive spirit made on the Michigan State soccer team have stayed with him on his journey to the South Bay, even when things took a shocking turn.
On January 27, 2021, Foster was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Foster had gone to the doctors weeks before after feeling cramping in his right hand. He chalked it up to carpal tunnel syndrome from his work as a software salesman. A nurse performed an Electromyography (EMG) test to measure the electrical activity of muscles and nerves. Foster didn’t think much of it.
“I was joking around with the nurse and everything. I found out afterwards that the nurse knew right then and she went out of the room and started bawling,” Foster recalled.
Doctors made a short call to Foster on that January day to inform him of his diagnosis.
“It was brutal. Immediately I came out crying to my wife and had a big hug and then we tried to figure out what to do,” Foster said. “We met the entire team in a seven hour doctors’ appointment. The main thing that they said to do is go home, get everything in order and plan for the future immediately.”
Foster and his wife, Julie, informed their two young daughters. The family kept his diagnosis close as they figured out their next steps. Slowly, they told close family and friends.
Foster’s extensive support network was already in place. During the mid-90s, while playing volleyball with fellow Michigan State graduates near 22nd Street in Hermosa Beach for a case of beer, he earned the nickname, “Frosty.”
“Rob was my partner and I went up for the block and he bumped it and it was going way off the court and I was calling for it. As he was yelling, ‘Get it Foster, get it Foster,’ he accidentally said, ‘Get it, Frosty!’ I got it. But it hit me in the forehead and I went the complete opposite way. My glasses were broken, my mouth and chin had a big frosty O around it, and my chest on my belly had a big frosty O on it, and they go, ‘Frosty.’”
A week before the 2021 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hermosa Beach, his friend, Greg Waters, suggested a group get together to walk the parade in support of Foster. The day of the parade, over 50 people showed up to walk alongside Foster, much to his surprise.
“It was pretty amazing. There was no such thing as ‘Team Frosty’ at that point. We were just a group of people supporting Frosty. So that’s where our village really started happening,” he said.
What was already an annual birthday event for Foster, the cherished game day on the beach, turned into an annual event now known as “The Frosty Olympics” aimed to raise awareness and funding for ALS research.
“There’s really no good treatment and it needs to be reversed and the way it needs to be reversed is through community engagement, understanding and raising funds to do that,” Foster said. “Every ALS patient is different.”
This year’s event will include a cornhole tournament along with a ticket drawing for a getaway trip to Santa Barbara.
Team Frosty has pulled major sponsors locally and nationally; Tito’s Vodka, Speechcom, Jam-n Logistics, The Deck and Uncorked, Beach Life, Sketchers and countless local South Bay restaurants.
“Now they’re part of our community and our village,” he said. “We raised over 20 grand last year in our silent auction alone, and we’re probably going to do more than that this year.”
Funds have gone to other local ALS patients.
“I just gave a donation to a guy who lives in Gardena and is wheelchairbound. He can’t get out of his house because he doesn’t have a ramp. So we gave him the money to build a ramp to get out of the house,” Foster said.
Foster’s diet, once filled with sweets, is now keto-friendly, featuring macadamia nuts, grass-fed beef, and power bars. He can no longer feed himself. He noted that specialized utensils exist for ALS patients, including those with curves for individuals who cannot twist their wrists, and U-shaped toothbrushes. His bathroom has been modified to include handlebars, a jacuzzi tub, and an in-bath seat. His most recent acquisition is a wheelchair with “all the bells and whistles,” which he can control with his left hand and right foot.
His household tasks while working from home came to a halt as his symptoms became more debilitating.
“I would do all the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry and I’m not able to do any of that anymore,” he said. “It’s been a big adjustment for me.”
His wife and two daughters have helped care for Foster in almost every aspect.
“At first, it drove my wife and I nuts because I’m telling her how to cook and telling her how to do whatever. It’s hard to adjust and properly communicate and not piss off one another,” he said. “Now I can’t drive. So that’s been another adjustment. I’ve been able to slowly back off in telling her how to drive,” he laughed.
Foster is amazed by his system of supporters, and they are equally impressed by how he has handled his ALS diagnosis.
“I get surprised by the number of people who are amazed at how I attack things. I just don’t know any better way than the way I do it.”
He attributes his several childhood moves across the country to his strength in adaptability, and his time on the Michigan State soccer team for his endless competitive spirit.
“I think a lot of it is being an athlete and having that competitive spirit and grit to survive. You can always, always fight until the end,” he said.
Deeper into his journey, Foster has reached out to people battling ALS as a source of support. Friends of friends now connect with Foster as they grapple with their new diagnosis.
“I’ve been trading text messages over the last week with one of my friend’s buddies who just got diagnosed and he’s really shook up. I’ve been trying to give him a bunch of information without overwhelming him,” Foster said. “He doesn’t have the support system I do. I think it’s really important that somebody has a support system and I’m lucky to have that,” he said.
For more information on Team Frosty Olympics and ALS visit teamfrosty07.org. ER
