Before his first at-bat on Monday night, an emotional Freddie Freeman removed his helmet and waved to the crowd as fans at Dodger Stadium gave him a standing ovation.
It was just one of many tearful moments during Freeman’s return to the Dodgers for the first time since his 3-year-old son, Maximus, was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, and fought for his life.
Freeman was already crying when he walked into the clubhouse earlier in the day and saw his teammates and Dodgers coaches wearing T-shirts with his name and number on the back and “#MaxStrong” on the front.
The team wore them during pregame workouts to show solidarity with Freeman and his family, and the All-Star first baseman said it was “a very meaningful gesture.”
“Max is OK … but we have to redo almost everything,” Freeman told reporters during an emotional 30-minute press conference. According to the Los Angeles Times“It’s a horrible syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome… but I’m glad I’m here because it means things are getting better. Nobody should have to go through this, especially if you have a three-year-old.”
While Maximus’ recovery isn’t over yet, Freeman’s son returned home from the hospital on Saturday and showed signs of improvement — something that Freeman and his wife, Chelsea, who have endured harrowing ordeals while watching their son recover, seemed to notice.
Maximus spent eight days in the pediatric intensive care unit and began physical therapy the next day.
“He should never have had to go through this,” Freeman said. From ESPN“Nobody should have to go through this. Not just my family. We went every night and every room was full. [pediatric ICU]…It’s just heartbreaking. So many families are going through the same thing. We are one of the lucky ones who survived Guillain-Barré Syndrome and he may make a full recovery. We have kids who are fighting for their lives right now. It puts everything into perspective.
“Dodger fans aren’t going to like this, but I’d rather strike out 300 million times in a row with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series than go through that again. But he’s on a path. He’s on a path. It’s going to be a long path.”
By the evening of July 22nd, Maximus’ condition had gone from limping to being unable to walk, and he was initially diagnosed with temporary synovitis, but by July 24th he was unable to sit, eat or drink, so Chelsea took him to the emergency room.
Freeman was with Max in the emergency room that night and he was released at 3:30 p.m., but when he was examined by Maximus’ doctor the next day, Freeman’s son needed to go to hospital immediately.
Freeman first flew to Houston and then quickly returned to reunite with the family at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where within two and a half hours Maximus was on a ventilator and paralyzed from the neck down.
The next day, after two doses of intravenous immunoglobulin, an immunotherapy used to fight Guillen-Barré syndrome, the 3-year-old was finally able to shrug his shoulders.
He was taken off the ventilator on Wednesday and Freeman was able to hold her son for the first time shortly thereafter.
“I can’t even describe how happy I was to hold my son one more time,” Freeman said. “Just knowing how hard he fought those five days was special. When he was born, we were trying to think of a name. At the time, we had to name both of our kids. Chelsea came up with Maximus, and I thought, ‘That’s a strong name.’ I never thought he’d believe me four years later.”
Freeman said it was like a “miracle” that his son was feeling well enough to return to the stadium before the Dodgers hosted the Phillies on Monday.
Maximus can sit up on his own, which Dr Freeman said is a good baseline for recovery, but he will have to relearn to walk.
