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Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman will be back in the lineup Monday for the first time since July 26 after his son Max was discharged from the hospital.
Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times noted Freeman will play against the Philadelphia Phillies after being out for eight games to be with his three-year-old son. The team will wear Max Strong shirts in support of Freeman’s son, who was hospitalized with Guillain-Barré syndrome.
“After 8 long days in the Pediatric ICU we are officially HOME!,” Freeman and his wife, Chelsea, said in a joint social media post. “Max still has a long road ahead of him to regain his strength and relearn how to walk. 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.”
The positive update came after a previous post that revealed “Max rapidly declined and went into full body paralysis.”
However, health care workers at the hospital were able to reinforce his lungs and eventually took him off the ventilator and excavated him from his breathing tube.
The Associated Press cited the Mayo Clinic and explained “Guillain-Barré syndrome is a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. While there is no cure, most people fully recover.”
As for Freeman, the Dodgers placed him on the family emergency list when he was sidelined.
He returns to a team that is 65-47 and 4.5 games ahead of the second-place San Diego Padres in the National League West.
The eight-time All-Star is slashing .288/.395/.493 with 16 home runs and 67 RBI this season.