Freddie Freeman’s Wife Chelsea Opens Up About 4-Year-Old Son’s Scary 8-Day Hospital Stay After He ‘Coded at Check-In’ (Exclusive)

When Chelsea Freeman’s son started complaining about leg pain, she never could’ve predicted the days that would come after.

The 33-year-old mom of three, who is also the wife of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first baseman Freddie Freeman, tells PEOPLE that when she attended the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Texas to support her husband, her three sons became very sick. But it was her then-3-year-old son Max who had a particular, strange complaint.

“When we got back to California, I thought they were getting better, but Max woke up one day and kept tripping and falling,” Chelsea, who is partnering with OFF! for Adults & Kids, tells PEOPLE. “He was complaining about his hips and legs.”

Chelsea explains that she immediately took her son to a clinic, where doctors initially thought Max had transient arthritis.

“At this point, he could not stand at all. They ran tests and hydrated him. They told us they were 95% sure it was transient synovitis,” she says. However, after taking her son home, Max just got worse.

“Max continued to worsen the following day, to the point where he was barely eating or drinking,” Chelsea explains. “I had an appointment with my pediatrician, and as soon as she took his vitals, she said I immediately need to go back to the ER or she was calling an ambulance.”

According to Chelsea, the next few hours were the “scariest of my life.”

“Max coded at check-in, and all of a sudden we were surrounded by countless doctors and nurses,” she says. “At this point, he was paralyzed from the neck down. His breathing was weak, and they were worried about his lungs collapsing, so they immediately needed to sedate him and reinforce his lungs with a ventilator.”

At that point, the head of the ER was certain that Max had Guillain-Barré syndrome. According to the Mayo Clinic, Guillain-Barré is a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves, resulting in weakness, numbness or paralysis.

“Max would need a lumbar puncture to confirm the diagnosis,” Chelsea says, referring to a technique commonly known as a spinal tap. “The culture would take 48 hours, and Max would need a full-body MRI to rule out tumors, cancer and anything else. All words you never want to hear as a parent.”

Both the MRI and the lumbar puncture came back as positive for Guillain-Barré syndrome. “It was the hardest eight days of our lives,” Chelsea candidly admits. “Maximus went from being one of the most critical patients in the PICU to getting discharged eight days later. The first few days were so scary — we were just praying for a miracle.”

Since then, Max has been doing better, but he’s had to relearn basic functions and go to physical therapy.

“Max had to relearn everything, starting from tummy time when we got home,” she shares. “It was grueling days of physical therapy almost daily. He is still in physical therapy and is on track for a 12-month recovery. He has worked so hard in PT. Maximus took his first steps in mid-September.”

Because it’s been such a journey with Max’s health scare, Chelsea is happy to be partnering with OFF! to get some peace of mind with her boys — Max and his twin brother Brandon, 4, and 8-year-old son Charlie — as they get ready for the spring.

“Raising three boys, you never know what negotiation you’re going to find yourself in next,” she says. “It can be anything — from the food they want to eat to the clothes they want to wear, to applying insect repellent when going outside.”

“Luckily with OFF! for Adults & Kids, I don’t have to negotiate,” says the mom of three boys. And with baseball season set to start soon, Chelsea knows the family will be at the stadium getting ready to cheer Dad on.

“I am really trying to cherish all the special moments that baseball season brings,” she tells PEOPLE. “Freddie is very close to reaching big career milestones, and it is really special to witness.”