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An emotional Freddie Freeman took off his helmet and waved to the crowd at Dodger Stadium as the fans gave him a standing ovation before his first at-bat on Monday night.
It was just one of several tear-jerking moments as Freeman returned to the Dodgers for the first time since his 3-year-old son Maximus had been fighting for his life after being diagnosed with Guillen-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disorder.
Freeman had already cried when he walked into the clubhouse earlier in the day and saw his teammates and the Dodgers coaching staff with T-shirts that had his name and number on the back and “#MaxStrong” written on the front.
The team wore them in a show of solidarity with Freeman and his family during pregame workouts, a gesture that the All-Star first baseman said “means a lot.”
“Max is doing all right … but he’s got to relearn how to do pretty much everything,” Freeman told reporters during an emotional 30-minute press conference, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Terrible syndrome, Guillain-Barré … but it’s a good thing I’m here, because it means things are trending better. No one should have to go through this, especially with a 3-year-old.”
While Maximus’ recovery is far from over, Freeman’s son came home from the hospital on Saturday and had been trending in a positive direction, something that wasn’t lost on Freeman and his wife Chelsea, who have been through a harrowing ordeal watching what their son is going through.
Maximus had spent eight days in a pediatric intensive care unit and began physical therapy a day later.
“He didn’t deserve this,” Freeman said, per ESPN. “No one deserves this, anybody who goes through this. It’s not just my family. We were going every night, and every room is filled in the [pediatric ICU]. And that is heartbreaking. So many families are going through things like this. We’re one of the lucky ones that got Guillen-Barré that he might have a full recovery. There are kids out there who are fighting for their lives right now. It just puts everything in perspective.
“I know Dodger fans don’t like this, but I would gladly strike 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. He’s on his way. It’s gonna be a long road.”
The situation for Maximus went from a limp to being unable to walk on the night of July 22 and he was first diagnosed with transient synovitis, before Chelsea took him to the ER after he couldn’t sit up and then stopped eating and drinking on July 24.
Freeman joined them in the ER that night and Max was discharged at 3:30, but at a follow-up with Maximus’ physician the next day, the doctor said that the Freemans’ son needed to go to the hospital immediately.
Freeman quickly turned around after initially flying to Houston and joined his family at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where within two and a half hours Maximus was placed on a ventilator and was in paralysis from his kneck down.
Two rounds of intravenous immunoglobulin, an immunotherapy used to fight against Guillen-Barré, the next day turned the tide and eventually, the 3-year-old began to be able to shrug his shoulders.
The ventilator came out on Wednesday and Freeman was able to hold his son for the first time moments later.
“I can’t tell you how good that felt, to be able to hold my son again,” Freeman said. “That was a special time, just knowing how hard he fought in those five days. You know when he was born we were trying to figure out a name; we had to name two kids at that time. Chelsea came upon Maxiumus. I’m like, ‘That’s a strong name.’ I didn’t know he was going to prove me true within four years of his life.”
Freeman said on Monday before the Dodgers hosted the Phillies that it felt like a “miracle” that his son is doing better and that he’s back at the ballpark.
Maximus can sit up on his own – a sign of a good baseline for recovery doctors told Freeman – but he will need to relearn to walk.
