Days after daughter's open-heart surgery, Burger hits 1st HR with Rangers
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Instead of roaming the back fields in Surprise this week, Rangers infielder Jake Burger returned to his home in Nashville to spend necessary time with his family.
Burger¡¯s four-month-old daughter Penelope had successful open heart surgery on Feb. 24 at Vanderbilt Children¡¯s Hospital in Nashville. Penelope was born with Down Syndrome on Oct. 25, and while she was able to avoid surgery immediately after birth while in the NICU, a later heart surgery was necessary.
It went smoothly, Burger said on Thursday.
¡°It was just an unbelievable staff, top to bottom,¡± Burger said. ¡°I don't envy those doctors or nurses for what they deal with on a daily basis. We go out here and play a children's game and have fun with it. Seeing what they do every single minute of every single day, it's pretty incredible. We're really lucky that we had such a great team there.¡±
¡°Penelope¡¯s surgery was successful!!¡± Burger¡¯s wife Ashlyn said on social media. ¡°We do not have words that express our gratitude for her surgeon Dr. Carlos Mery & her medical team here at Vanderbilt. We also want to thank you all for your prayers, they were answered & they were heard.¡±
Burger wears No. 21 to honor Penelope and others with Down Syndrome. The genetic condition, known clinically as Trisomy 21, occurs when a person has an extra copy of chromosome 21.
Burger was away from camp for just a few days while Penelope underwent surgery. He arrived back in Arizona on Thursday morning. In his first game back, the Rangers¡¯ new first baseman launched his first home as a member of the club -- and he did so with Penelope's hospital band on his wrist.
¡°It's tough,¡± Burger said. ¡°I feel for all the parents that have to go through that. Fortunately, ours went smoothly, and Penelope is doing great. It's one of those things where you have to have faith in something when you're in the waiting room there. My faith in God, my faith in my family, and it just grew exponentially. We¡¯re just blessed and grateful to have Penelope on the mend, and I¡¯m ready to come back to some Rangers baseball.
¡°Now it's just about getting her healthy and getting her and the family down to Texas and ready for what comes this season.¡±