Return to mound a special moment for White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar
Taking questions from reporters Friday night after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Danny Farquhar never let go of wife Lexie's hand.
"She is an incredible woman," Farquhar said. "She didn't leave my side for the 18 nights I was in the ICU. I think she didn't bathe for like a week and a half."
At least for the remainder of the season, baseball was taken away from Farquhar on April 20. Not long after pitching two-thirds of an inning against the Astros, he collapsed in the dugout at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Farquhar was fortunate to receive immediate medical attention, and he had two surgeries at Rush University Medical Center the day after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm.
Being there for his wife and three young children is the one and only priority.
"When you wake up in the hospital and you've got like 20-something staples in your head and a drain coming out the other side and you have no memories, it puts life in perspective of how quickly it can change," Farquhar said. "You're at a baseball game, you're 31 years old, you think everything's going to be just fine, and it could have turned so quickly. You really learn to appreciate your wife and kids so much more.
"Obviously, all the prayers that everybody (sent) had to help, and it just puts life in a perspective. One day we're all going to go, but you'd like to not be as young as I am with three kids, one who's six months old. So you look at everybody differently."
Farquhar's family members surrounded the mound before he threw the first pitch to bullpen mate Nate Jones. His White Sox teammates were also standing beside him.
"Whoever's decision that was, I'm sure it was James Shields, he's an incredible leader that we have," Farquhar said. "That really caught me off-guard and that was probably the most special moment of the night to me."
Farquhar fighting for his life was a low point of the season for the Sox. His recovery and Friday night's return is a definite highlight.
"That first night, you start looking it up to see what happened, what it is, what a brain aneurysm is, all the numbers and odds that were against him," Jones said. "So it was pretty cool to see he beat all that. He's good-hearted, good-natured, and he works hard at everything he does. He's a fighter. We've seen that, and he's shown everybody that. I think that resonates with everybody."
Even if he wanted to pitch again this season, Farquhar has not received medical clearance. He could make a comeback in 2019.
"I hope so," said Farquhar, who admitted he is dealing with memory issues. "I haven't thrown a baseball yet, besides that first pitch today, so I don't know how everything's going to respond. I've been cleared to throw a baseball, I'm just not sure when it's going to happen. I think I'll be back there one day."