Woman who was rescued from chair dies

She was confined for months

A Springfield Township woman who had been rescued from her home after months confined to her living room chair has died.

Barbara Foster's home in Springfield Township.

Barbara Foster, 75, died at 4:15 p.m. Monday at the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio, Lucas County Sheriff’s Deputy William Talbott said.

Ms. Foster was rescued from her home Feb. 16 after an elderly volunteer from Our Lady of Lourdes church who regularly brought her food called 911. He indicated she had not left her chair since July 2016, according to a Lucas County Sheriff’s Office report.

Firefighters found human excrement all around her, and her skin had molded to the living room chair.

“I was also advised that Barbara was so physically weak that bones in her body were breaking when EMS was attempting to carry her out of the house,” the report read.

She was 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed 550 pounds, according to the report.

The volunteer told investigators he had delivered food to Ms. Foster’s home for the past 10 years. He said he was used to the smell but called 911 that day because she was “not acting herself,” according to the sheriff’s office report.

Her home in the 200 block of Burnham Green Road last month was declared unfit for habitation by the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. Spokeswoman Shannon Lands said the home needs to be cleaned up before anyone can live in it. She does not know who owns the house after Ms. Foster’s death.

“Right now it’s sitting in limbo,” she said.

Ms. Foster’s obituary said she spent her 30-year teaching career at Toledo Public Schools’ Start High School before retiring and that she loved animals, caring for them as if they were her children.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. March 20 at the Coyle Funeral Home, 1770 S. Reynolds Rd., with visitation an hour before services.

Contact Sarah Elms at: selms@theblade.com or 419-724-6103 or on Twitter @BySarahElms.