Three days after Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman revealed that his 3-year-old son was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome — and eight days after his son was admitted into the hospital — the family announced that Maximus is back home.
“Max still has a long road ahead of him to regain his strength and relearn how to walk,” Freeman and wife Chelsea wrote on Instagram. “But we are so thankful to have our family back together. Thank you God for this miracle. Also, thank you to our incredible team of doctors and angel nurses for taking such good care of our boy. And to our village for helping so much with Charlie and Brandon.”
Guillain-Barre syndrome is a neurological condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves, according to the Mayo Clinic.. It can cause weakness, numbness or paralysis, which is what happened with Max Freeman. Though it’s a rare condition in children, Guillain-Barre syndrome typically requires treatment in a hospital. And in its most serious form, the condition is a medical emergency.
No cure for the disease is yet known. However, most people recover completely, even if recovery can take up to several years. As the Freemans mentioned, Max has to relearn how to walk, which typically occurs six months after symptoms first begin.
Freeman has been away from the Dodgers for the past 10 days, since being scratched from the lineup on July 26, then placed on the family emergency list.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Sunday that Freeman could be back with the team on Monday or Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris. The team plays at home for the next six games after Freeman left at the beginning of an eight-game road trip.
Freeman is batting .288 with an .888 OPS, 26 doubles, 16 home runs, 67 RBI and five stolen bases in his third season with the Dodgers. He was named to his seventh consecutive National League All-Star team this year.
