LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on Monday night for the first time since his son was hospitalized.
The former Braves star and his wife Chelsea had to rush their 3-year-old son, Max, to the hospital after he went into a full-body paralysis earlier this month.
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Max was eventually diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological condition that causes the immune system to attack the nerves and can cause, numbness or paralysis.
The Freemans got to take Max home on Sunday night. Freeman came off the Dodgers’ family emergency list on Monday and started against the Phillies.
Freeman addressed local media about his return and seeing his son Max in the pediatric ICU.
“Seeing one of your kids on a ventilator fighting, it was hard,” Freeman said as he tried to hold back the tears. “That’s the heartbreaking thing. No one deserves to go through something like this. I know you parents understand that. You’d switch in a second to take that pain, that suffering away from your kid in a heartbeat. When you feel hopeless, like Chelsea and I did, that’s hard.”
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His Dodger teammates wore #MaxStrong shirts with Freeman’s number during batting practice and field drills. When Freeman stepped up to the plate for the first time, he was greeted with a standing ovation.
“That was the first time I cried today, when I walked in and saw those,” Freeman said. “It means a lot.”
Freeman said he received countless texts from his Dodgers teammates, former Braves teammates and players across the league, including Phillies star Bryce Harper.
“Bryce probably texts at least four times during the nine days, really checking in,” Freeman said.
Freeman said the support from his friends and the league gave the family hope.
Max is now back home and doing physical therapy exercises. Freeman said his son is expected to make a full recovery, but it could take some time.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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