Freddie Freeman returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup this week after spending 10 days away from the team while his son, Maximus, was hospitalized due to a rare neurological condition.
In updates shared by Freeman and his wife Chelsea, the couple chronicled Max’s battle with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which entailed being put on a ventilator and needing a feeding tube.
Max made enough progress in his recovery to be released from the hospital on Saturday night, which paved the way for Freeman rejoining his Dodgers teammates.
Philadelphia Phillies MVP Bryce Harper was among the players who checked in with Freeman during his son’s health scare, via Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer:
“Whenever you hear about somebody’s kids or anybody that’s going through something — there’s nothing more important than having healthy children,” Harper said. “There’s a lot of things in life that you wish, you want, but the biggest thing is making sure your family is healthy. So when you see someone else going through that … kid is relentless too, so that helps, obviously. Max is doing well now. Freddie’s pretty upbeat about that.
“I was checking on him, obviously. It’s so much bigger than the game is, and I love Freddie as a human being, as a person, and his whole family, Chelsea, and all of his kids. He’s a good person. I just wanted to make sure he was OK. Check in on Max, too.”
Harper was happy that Dodgers fans gave Freeman a standing ovation in his first at-bat back with the team:
“He deserves it, obviously,” Harper said. “Being able to finally cheer for him and let him know we’re all thinking about him. Not just the people in the stands, but, obviously, players as well. I bet I wasn’t the only one who texted him or talked to him. But I love Freddie, man. He’s a great person, and he deserved that yesterday.”
When Freeman arrived at Dodger Stadium on Monday, he was greeted by teammates, coaches and broadcasters wearing blue t-shirts with “#MaxStrong” across the chest.
“I do not know whose idea it was. That was the first time I cried today, when I walked in and saw those. It means a lot,” Freeman said.
“The support from this organization, there’s no words. I can’t even put it into words. I’m just so glad he was able to be at CHOC. That team of doctors and nurses, I can’t thank them enough. I can’t thank IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin), that medicine, enough, because that’s what helped.
“And them knowing to do that was huge. I’m sure I’ll be crying a lot more throughout the day, so bear with me. There’s just no words for what the Dodgers have meant to our family over the nine days.”
Freddie Freeman thankful for Bryce Harper
Freeman appreciated the well wishes he received from Harper and several players and coaches around the league. “Bryce probably text at least four times during the nine days. Really checking in,” Freeman recalled.
“Just the whole Phillies team, obviously Bryce, but every single guy that got there (first base) was very, very nice. Garrett Stubbs, their catcher. I think I’m going to be doing this for a couple series, especially when we go to Milwaukee.
“I’m going to thank Pat Murphy in person. I’m just very thankful for the baseball community of lifting up Max in prayer and with love and support. It’s going to be a long journey for him, but it’s a beautiful thing he’s on the path to being recovered.”
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