A $1 million donation is being made by Los Angeles Dodgers player Freddie Freeman and his wife, Chelsea, to a children’s hospital in Southern California, where their kid received treatment for several weeks in 2024.
Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where their son Maximus recovered from a severe case of Guillain-Barré syndrome, will receive a $1 million gift from the Freemans.
Maximus spent more than a week in the pediatric intensive care unit of the hospital last summer while receiving therapy for the uncommon autoimmune disease.
In addition to being placed on a ventilator and intubated, he experienced temporary paralysis in the majority of his body and had to basically relearn how to walk.
Freeman and his wife were affected for a long time by the family’s frequent visits to the PICU, he stated in a statement.
“Seeing every room full in the PICU each and every day impacted Chelsea and I deeply. Getting to know the doctors, nurses and care teams and seeing how they show up each day to bring healing and hope to kids and their families was inspiring,” Freeman stated. “CHOC saved Maximus’ life.”
In the middle of the 2024 season, Freeman, an eight-time MLB All-Star and two-time World Series champion, took a few games off to spend time with his family as his son recovered.
The team allowed him to miss as much time as necessary, and his teammates wearing official warm-up attire that said #MaxStrong and the spectators gave him a thunderous standing ovation.
Freeman won his second World Series and was voted the World Series Most Valuable Player as a result of his turbulent 2024 MLB season.
Meanwhile, Maximus has recovered. The now 4-year-old has made great strides, regaining reflexes in both his legs and feet and surpassing his pre-diagnosis weight, according to Chelsea Freeman’s March recovery update.
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Following that visit in March, Chelsea declared, “He is 80% recovered. I cannot express how thankful I am for these improvements … Life has slowly started to feel more normal. I realize how precious health is now. It is everything. If you are a special needs parent I have no words for how incredible you are.”
Max’s twin brother, Brandon, and their older brother, Charlie, are the other two kids of Freddie and Chelsea Freeman.
For the Dodgers, Freddie Freeman is a leader both on and off the field.
He is still one of the main offensive catalysts for the 32-21 reigning World Series champions, and he presently leads the National League in hitting average and OPS.
