Maximus Freeman accompanied his brothers, Charlie and Brandon John, and their mother Chelsea, to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night.
Freddie Freeman went 1-for-3 with one run scored, one walk and two strikeouts in the first game with all three of his sons in attendance at Dodger Stadium since Max was hospitalized in late July. After falling ill during the All-Star break, like his siblings did, Max endured a battle with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disorder.
He was put on a ventilator to aid with breathing and required feeding tubes after being admitted to the hospital. Freeman left the Dodgers on July 26 and was placed on the family emergency list the following day.
Good to have you back, Max. 💙 #MaxStrong pic.twitter.com/vAONbCBQhZ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 8, 2024
Freeman was away from the Dodgers for eight games but felt comfortable returning on Aug. 5 because of Max getting released from the hospital and making strides at home.
“It’s a good thing I’m here, because it means things are trending better,” Freeman said his first day back. “Wednesday at 10:46, I’ll never forget it, he had his ventilator pulled. We had P.T. there, so right when his ventilator was pulled, within six minutes he was sitting on me. I can’t tell you how good that felt, to be able to hold my son again.
“That was a special time, just knowing how hard he fought in those five days. When he was born, we were trying to figure out a name. We had to name two kids at the time. Chelsea came upon Maximus. I was like, ‘That’s a strong name.’
“I didn’t know it would be proven true within four years of his life of how strong this little boy is. It’s heartbreaking. It really is. Chelsea has been telling me she’s been kind of updating everyone as we’ve gone through. You could see his smile again.
“She showed me one of the pictures she was going to let out, and that’s how he is at home right now. Where his IVs were, he has a little scab, and he calls that his ‘boo-boo.’ He thinks that’s his only boo-boo, which is wonderful.
“When he had the ventilator out and his feeding tube came out, he still had his IVs in, so he was acting like he’s Spider-Man. Anybody that came in, he was shooting them. If you talked to me six days ago, I would’ve never been able to speak. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. But the reason I’m able to get through this is because of the huge wins we’ve been getting the last few days with him. It’s been a miraculous recovery.”
Max Freeman update
Just over one week ago, Chelsea Freeman shared an update on Instagram that Max was “doing really well considering that he was paralyzed neck down from GBS a little over a month ago… Max’s recovery really has been a miracle.”
The Freemans have continued to thank Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and helped raise awareness and support for those affected by Guillain-Barré syndrome.
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