Freddie Freeman gets a hug from Bryce Harper as he returns to the Dodgers while his sick son recovers

By Beth Harris, AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman singled and got a hug from Phillies star Bryce Harper in his return to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup Monday night after missing eight games to be with his sick 3-year-old son, who is out of danger following a serious medical diagnosis.

“I’m back,” he said before the game, “which means good things are happening in the Freeman household.”

Freeman received a standing ovation in his first at-bat. The Phillies joined in the applause from their dugout. Freeman stepped out of the batter’s box, removed his helmet and waved to the crowd, then touched his heart with his right hand.

The response clearly shook Freeman, who took several deep breaths before facing Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola. He struck out swinging to end the first inning.

The crowd chanted “Freddie! Freddie!” before Freeman singled in the third inning. Harper was waiting for him with a comforting hug.

After an initial diagnosis proved incorrect, Maximus Freeman was found to have Guillain-Barré syndrome, something Freeman and his wife, Chelsea, had never heard of. This rare neurological disorder occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, leading to nerve damage and muscle weakness.

“It was hard to see one of your children struggling on a ventilator,” Freeman said, her voice breaking. “That’s what’s heartbreaking. No one deserves to go through something like that. I know the parents understand. They would change in a second to take that pain, that suffering away from their child in an instant. When you feel hopeless, like Chelsea and I did, that’s hard.”

Speaking to the media, she cried at times and wiped her eyes and nose with a towel.

“If you would have talked to me six days ago, I would have never been able to speak,” Freeman said. “The reason I can get through this is because of the huge wins we’ve been having the last few days with him. It’s been a miraculous recovery, that’s what we’re told.”

Maximus first became ill during the All-Star break in July, when the family traveled to the game in Texas to cheer on Freeman. Four days later, the boy was unable to sit or walk and eventually stopped eating and drinking.

Freeman said her son experienced a loss of feeling that extended from his feet to his shoulders and had difficulty breathing.

He was rushed to a hospital near the family’s Orange County home and placed on a ventilator. Maximus received two rounds of intravenous immunoglobulin, a combined biologic and antibody agent that helps restore a weakened immune system.

“Then it was a waiting game,” Freeman said.

He and Chelsea sat by the bed in the pediatric intensive care unit for hours, staring at their son for the slightest movement.

“He started to shrug his shoulders, which was a big sign for us,” Freeman said. “It meant we were closer to being able to get him off the ventilator.”

Doctors were encouraged by how quickly Maximus’ paralysis receded from his upper to lower body.

“We mark the small victories we were able to achieve during this time,” said Freeman, whose mother died of melanoma when he was 10.

“At 10:46 they took me off the ventilator, I will never forget it,” he said. “Within six minutes he was sitting on me. I can’t tell you how good it felt to be able to hug my son again.”

Maximus is one of three Freeman children. Charlie is the eldest, followed by Brandon and Maximus, a name Chelsea came up with.

“It was a strong name,” Freeman said. “I didn’t know that four years from now, this kid was going to be shown how strong he is.”

On Monday, Freeman was greeted by his teammates and Dodgers staff members wearing blue T-shirts with #MaxStrong on them, featuring his last name and No. 5 on the back. Manager Dave Roberts said the idea came from a team employee.

“That was the first time I cried today, when I walked in and saw that,” Freeman said. “It means a lot.”

His baseball family reached out to Freeman during the crisis, including his current teammates, his former team, the Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo.

“The support and love that we have been shown has given us hope,” Freeman said. “It was necessary, it really was.”

Maximus is back home, undergoing physical therapy to relearn how to walk and move his claw-like toes.

“You can see his smile again,” Freeman said.

The boy was looking forward to watching his father play against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

“We’ve been told he’ll make a full recovery,” Freeman said. “But we don’t know how long that will take.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb