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October 7, 2009

Alex Gonzalez's Three-Year Nightmare

Jessica Camerato, WEEI:
[Alex] Gonzalez and his wife [Johanna] welcomed their third son, Johan, on Sept. 26, 2006. But Johan was different than Gonzalez's other two older sons — he was born premature. Doctors detected medical concerns immediately. ...

Doctors watched Johan's health from Day 1. They performed surgical procedures to elongate his trachea and his parents monitored Johan's heartbeat with machines in their home. ... By the time the 2007 season began, he had an optimistic outlook regarding his son. That ended abruptly.

Johan stopped breathing in his sleep. ... It has been over two years since Johan slipped into a coma in July of 2007. ...

"... [W]hen I came here [Boston] I tried to stay focused for nine innings, three hours, tried to be focused on baseball. But after that I go back to my situation."
ESPN's Amy K. Nelson's latest column has more details.
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8 comments:

  1. richardOctober 7, 2009 at 1:52 PM

    Thanks for posting this, Allan. It's all too easy to forget that sports heroes are real people with real lives and real concerns.

    The article makes mention of mounting medical bills. If that's a concern for a millionaire ballplayer, imagine what it's like for poor or middle-class people. There's clearly something wrong with the system, eh?

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  2. AmyOctober 7, 2009 at 3:50 PM

    That is heart-breaking. Beyond imagining.

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  3. SoSockOctober 7, 2009 at 4:24 PM

    Kids are the worst.
    When I think I have troubles I try to remember.
    My own son, the oldest one, was in a coma for 3 days about 4 years ago. I count my blessings every day that he is alive and well. One never knows with a coma.
    2 years. I can't even imagine.
    My thoughts are with the Gonzalez family.

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  4. SoSockOctober 7, 2009 at 4:30 PM

    I half expected to see a thread for this MFY game.
    Off to class. Speaking in tongues, ya know.(wink)
    GO TWINKIES!
    And how 'bout that invaluable defensive play and leadership by Passedballa.
    Manana, or later tonight

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  5. timOctober 7, 2009 at 4:33 PM

    Sosock, MFY thread is in the post below!

    And this is a heartbreaking story. Poor little seabass. Wishing the gonzo family all the best.

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  6. Lisa CohenOctober 7, 2009 at 4:45 PM

    How heartbreaking. The stress on his wife and older children must be tremendous.

    ReplyDelete
  7. laura kOctober 7, 2009 at 4:51 PM

    When I think I have troubles I try to remember.

    Each of our troubles are real. Love is love, loss is loss, pain is pain. No need to compare.

    A heartwrenching story, yes.

    I hope SoSock finds the gamethread!

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  8. andyOctober 7, 2009 at 5:56 PM

    I understand.

    ReplyDelete