LOS ANGELES – Freddie Freeman returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers early Monday afternoon – after a difficult two-week layoff in which his 3-year-old son, Maximus, battled a rare neurological disease – and he saw a new T. – shirts adorning every locker. It was Dodger Blue, with Freeman’s name and number on the back and the phrase “#MaxStrong” emblazoned on the front.
Moments later, all the Dodgers coaches and players were wearing them during pregame practice one by one with their former star pitcher and his youngest child.
“It’s the first time I’ve cried today,” Freeman said. “It means a lot.”
Freeman’s emotions returned during a 30-minute interview with reporters as he described the pain of seeing his son suffer. Max was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré disease, a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves, causing weakness, numbness, and in Max’s case, paralysis.
Max woke up two Mondays ago with a slight limp and was paralyzed four days later, prompting Freeman to rush home from the series in Houston. The following Wednesday, July 31, doctors took Max off his ventilator.
Five days later, Freeman was back in the Dodgers lineup for the start of a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies, playing first base and hitting third. He finished 1-for-4 in the Dodger’s 5-3 victory.
Max spent eight days in intensive care before being released from hospital on Saturday. The next day, he started physical therapy.
Max’s personality is back, Freeman said, “but he has to learn to do everything right.”
Most importantly, Max is expected to make a full recovery.
“He didn’t deserve this,” Freeman said. “No one deserves this, anyone who goes through this. It’s not just my family. We walked every night, and every room was full [pediatric ICU]. And that hurts. Too many families face things like this. We are some of the lucky ones who have fully recovered from Guillain-Barré. There are children out there fighting for their lives right now. It just puts everything in perspective.
“I know Dodger fans don’t like this, but I’d rather go out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the World Series 300 million times in a row than see that again. But he’s on his way his way. He is on a long way.
Max went from an apparent coma to being unable to walk on the night of July 22. Doctors initially diagnosed him with transient synovitis, a temporary inflammation of the lining of the hip that is common in young children. . On Tuesday, Max couldn’t sit up.
On Wednesday night, Freeman’s wife, Chelsea, contacted Dodgers clubhouse manager Alex Torres in a panic. Max was not eating or drinking and needed to go to the hospital. Manager Dave Roberts stood up for Freeman in the dugout in the middle of the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ loss to the San Francisco Giants and told him he needed to go home. Doctors ran tests, put Max on an IV, gave him Toradol, a powerful anti-inflammatory, and discharged him at 3:30 am.
Freeman played a day game the following afternoon, boarded the team flight to Houston and waited for word from Max’s appointment with his doctor. The doctor told Chelsea that Max needed to be taken to the hospital immediately, prompting Freeman to rush to the airport and catch the first flight to Southern California. After 2½ hours, Max was on a ventilator to strengthen his lungs because the paralysis was affecting his airway. He could not move any part of his body below his neck. Freeman found her in that condition when she arrived at the emergency room at 10 p.m
“I think most of us are parents in here,” Freeman said, his voice cracking as he wrapped a towel around his face. “Seeing one of your kids on a ventilator fighting…it was hard.”
The energy began to change the next morning. Doctors started intravenous immunoglobulin, a type of immunotherapy used as a first line of defense against Guillain-Barré, at 6 a.m. Another dose followed 13 hours later. Less than 10 minutes later, Max started shaking his shoulders, a big sign that he might be turning a corner. On Tuesday, there was talk of pulling his ventilator. The next day — precisely at 10:46 pm, as Freeman recalled — it happened. Max sat on his lap a moment later.
“I can’t tell you how great that was, to be able to hold my son again,” Freeman said. “That was a special moment, just knowing how hard he fought in those five days. You know, when he was born, we were trying to find a name; we had to name the children two then. Chelsea came to Maximus. I’m like, ‘That’s a strong name.’ I didn’t know that he would show me the truth in four years of his life.”
Freeman expressed equal parts sadness and relief Monday, but also gratitude — to the slain players and coaches across the industry who reached out, including Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy and his players, who posted a supporting video; to the Dodgers, who kept telling him to take as much time as he needed; and, especially, to the team of doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
“I arrived nine days later, and it feels like a miracle,” Freeman said. “Of course it is. So I can’t thank them enough.”
The exact cause of Guillain-Barré disease is unknown and there is no known cure. Most patients make a full recovery, according to the Mayo Clinic, but some severe cases can be fatal. It can progress quickly, making it quick to recognize.
Max can stay on his own, which doctors say gives him a good foundation for recovery. His arms are bent and he needs to learn to walk, but eventually, Freeman believes he will make a full recovery.
It’s understandable that Freeman didn’t watch the Dodgers’ games in Houston last week, focusing on his son and hopefully a little nervousness. He finally started swinging the bat again Tuesday morning, mostly to relax after spending the past four nights on a hospital couch. He struck again on Thursday.
The next day, Freeman spoke with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman about the return. His return Monday prompted the Dodgers to designate infielder Cavan Biggio for assignment.
Freeman doesn’t know how he’ll handle playing, but his son’s progress is comforting.
“I’m here because things are better at home,” Freeman said. “He’s on the road to recovery. He’s home happy. I said, ‘Did you enjoy watching Dad on TV tonight?’ He said, ‘Yes.’
Freeman was greeted by a long blast before his first at-bat. The Phillies applauded from their dugout. The clock was stopped when he came out of the umpire’s box, removed his helmet and waved to the crowd, then touched his right hand to his heart.
“It made it a lot harder to hit in that first game — when you pitch in a big ballpark, it’s a lot harder to hit,” Freeman told MLB Network on the field after the Dodgers’ win. .
He expanded on the feeling of the moment when he spoke to reporters on stage: “I was doing well with my hat on, and my father was sitting in the front row with my mother both. He was like, I don’t know if I can call him crying, but he was choked and crying and that’s what made me go on.”
Freeman started the last out of the first inning.
“It was one of the strongest games I’ve ever had in my big league career,” he said.
The crowd chanted “Freddie! Freddie!” before Freeman singled to third. Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper was waiting for him with a comforting kiss.
“Bryce probably wrote at least four times in nine days, coming in,” Freeman said, adding that every Phillies player who came through wished him luck.
“I’m tired and I’m tired,” he said, a hint of weariness in his voice. “It’s just an emotional day.”
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
#Freeman #successful #comeback #Dodgers #show #support