Chicago’s Farquhar is in the ‘fight of his life’
Danny Farquhar, the Chicago White Sox reliever who collapsed in the dugout during a game Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage, underwent an additional procedure to relieve swelling over the weekend and, according to a team official, is “in the fight of his life right now.”
Farquhar, who began vomiting in the sixth inning and then collapsed from the ruptured aneurysm, was taken by ambulance to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where the team said he remains in critical but stable condition.
“He’s a fighter, and he’s in the fight of his life right now,’’ Chicago White Sox vice president Ken Williams told USA Today. “They had to do another surgery, cracking his skull open, and putting a clamp on it. My God, this certainly shows the fragility of life and how we take every day for granted. And it can change in a heartbeat. Literally.”
The White Sox were playing the Houston Astros Friday night; Williams said that Farquhar’s wife, Alexandria, and his mother were at the game.
“By the time they got to the clubhouse, he was already in an ambulance heading to the hospital,” Williams said. “Can you imagine what they went through, and are still going through?’’
Sohail Shahpar, Farquhar’s longtime agent and friend, described the family as shaken and cautiously optimistic, according to USA Today. The team offered no update on his condition Sunday, but the Chicago Tribune confirmed the report of an additional brain procedure. At the family’s request, the team is releasing no information on Farquhar’s treatment. He remains in ICU and is expected to be hospitalized for an extended period, according to reports.
“Let the medical staff do what they can do and then at the appropriate time, everybody will let us know when it’s OK to go ahead and reach out and go see him,” manager Rick Renteria said.
Meanwhile, his anxious teammates wait.
“Besides him being a great teammate and part of this brotherhood, I have to be respectful of his family,” pitcher Carson Fulmer told the Tribune. “He’s a brother, he’s one of our teammates and we’re all here for him and his family.”
Farquhar and his wife are the parents of three children, aged seven months to six years.
Players around MLB have been sending messages of support to the pitcher and his family.