'He's a walking miracle:' Farquhar visits White Sox
Danny Farquhar's No. 43 uniform has been prominently displayed in the Chicago White Sox's home dugout since April 21, the day after the reliever collapsed while suffering a brain hemorrhage from a ruptured aneurysm shortly after pitching against the Houston Astros.
The uniform was taken down before Tuesday night's interleague game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“We told him in the hospital that we were going to fly his jersey until he walked in here, and sure enough he did today,” Sox reliever Nate Jones said. “It was exciting for everyone.”
When Farquhar was rushed to the hospital on April 20, one White Sox official was told his odds for survival were 30 percent.
Not only did he pull through, Farquhar was released from Rush University Medical Center on Monday and he visited the Sox Tuesday afternoon before batting practice.
“He looks great, man,” White Sox starting pitcher James Shields said. “He looks amazing. To go through what he did and to see him look how he does was an amazing feeling for us in the clubhouse, and I'm sure it was for him.”
Farquhar was accompanied by his wife Lexi, who was also at the game when he vomited and then collapsed in the Sox's dugout.
“He was upbeat,” Jones said. “He was a little worried about the stress of being the center of attention. Nobody necessarily likes that at any point of your life. He was excited and I think he's excited about how excited we were. It was just a blessing to see him walk in here.
“A lot of people in that situation, from what we hear, usually had to learn how to talk again and write again and do their big motor movements and stuff like that. So where he's at, he's a walking miracle.”
Dr. Demetrius Lopes, Farquhar's neurosurgeon, said returning to the mound is an option beginning next season. Dr. Lopes will not medically release Farquhar to pitch in a competitive game this year so he can fully recover.
According to his teammates, Farquhar is disappointed he won't be able to pitch again this season.
“He's like, 'I don't know how I long I'll be out, but I'll be throwing some live (batting practice) soon,'” White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez said. “We're happy to see him, and it was fun to be around him. He came to his locker and saw his locker. There's really not many words that we can say having him around.
“It's awesome. It's a blessing in disguise that he's around. Not many people can make it through that surgery. And just to have him around here, he was loving life just to be around the guys.”