Three days after Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman revealed that his 3-year-old son had been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, and eight days after his son was admitted to the hospital, the family announced that Maximus had returned home.
“Max still has a long road ahead of him to regain his strength and learn to walk again,” Freeman and his wife Chelsea wrote on Instagram. “But we are so grateful to have our family together again. Thank you, God, for this miracle. Also, thank you to our amazing team of angel doctors and nurses for taking such good care of our boy. And to our town for helping so much with Charlie and Brandon.”
Guillain-Barré syndrome is a neurological disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves, According to the Mayo Clinic… It can cause weakness, numbness or paralysis, as happened to Max Freeman. Although it is a rare disease in children, Guillain-Barré syndrome usually requires treatment in a hospital. And in its most severe form, the disease is a medical emergency.
There is still no known cure for the disease. However, most people make a full recovery, although recovery can take several years. As the Freemans mentioned, Max has to learn to walk again, which usually happens six months after symptoms begin.
Freeman has been out for the Dodgers for the past 10 days, since being removed from the lineup on July 26 and then placed on the family emergency list.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Freeman could return to the team on Monday or Tuesday. According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles TimesThe team will play at home for the next six games after Freeman left at the start of an eight-game road trip.
Freeman is hitting .288 with an .888 OPS, 26 doubles, 16 home runs, 67 RBIs and five stolen bases in his third season with the Dodgers. He was named to his seventh consecutive NL All-Star team this year.