New York Baseball

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Danny Farquhar Visits White Sox Teammates After April Brain Injury

CHICAGO — Danny Farquhar was back on the mound Friday, six weeks after suffering a brain hemorrhage during a game.

Joined by his Chicago White Sox teammates, family and medical caregivers on the infield, Farquhar threw the ceremonial first pitch before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. His low-and-away toss to his fellow reliever Nate Jones won’t affect a box score, but it meant a lot for Farquhar.

The Brewers joined a sparse crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field in giving Farquhar a standing ovation.

“Just the ability to be out there, I feel like I’m very fortunate,” Farquhar said, grinning while talking to reporters and holding the hand of his wife, Lexie. “To look at all the people who also had brain issues in the I.C.U., it’s very humbling. Just being in there and then being able to throw the first pitch is incredible.”

A ruptured aneurysm caused Farquhar, 31, to pass out in the sixth inning of a 10-0 loss to Houston on April 20 after he got two outs and returned to the dugout. He was helped by team medical personnel and on-site emergency medical technicians, then was taken to Rush University Medical Center by ambulance.

Farquhar had surgery and remained in the hospital’s neurological intensive care unit until May 7.

He said he remembered nothing from the time he walked to the bullpen at about 6:30 p.m. before the April 20 game until “four or five days later” when he woke up in the hospital with “twentysomething staples in his head and a drain coming out the other side.” He’s still dealing with memory problems.

Friday was the first time Farquhar had tossed a baseball since the incident. He also said it was the first time he had worn a hat, a White Sox cap that concealed a long scar on his left temple just below his hairline.

Farquhar’s rapid recovery from the potentially life-threatening episode has been considered remarkable. Dr. Demetrius Lopes, the neurosurgeon who treated Farquhar, said he expected Farquhar, a right-hander, to able to pitch again. But Lopes said last month that he would not medically release Farquhar to throw in a game this season, so he can fully recover.

“When I woke up in the I.C.U., I was like, ‘I can’t believe they put me on the 60-day D.L.,’ ” Farquhar said.

Farquhar has been cleared to start throwing, however.

“I just don’t know when it’s going to happen,” he said.

Farquhar said the hemorrhage had changed his outlook on life.

“You’re at a baseball game and you’re 31 years old, and everything is going to be fine,” he said. “It can turn so quickly. One day we’re all going to go, but you’d like it not to be as young as I am with three kids.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/sports/baseball/danny-farquhar-white-sox-brain-hemorrhage.html?