Mariners' Vasquez has brain surgery
Seattle Mariners pitcher Anthony Vasquez underwent emergency brain surgery for a life-threatening condition over the weekend, MLB.com reported on Monday.
Vasquez, 26, experienced headaches, then had problems with his vision and felt dizziness last Wednesday while working out at the Mariners' training complex in Peoria, Ariz., as he recovered from a shoulder injury.
Doctors discovered he had a ruptured blood vessel in his brain. Specifially, they found a ruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which is a life-threatening tangle of blood vessels in the brain.
They performed 5 1/2 hours of surgery Friday in Phoenix.
"He's a miracle," his father, Rudy, who is a scout in the Angels' organization, told MLB.com. "We have a strong faith in Jesus and Anthony's faith has always been strong as well. There's no other way to say it. When the neurosurgeon came out he said, 'Your son should be dead, but he's not.'"
On Monday, Anthony Vasquez was traveling from Phoenix to his home in San Antonio, Texas.
Vasquez was told to avoid heavy lifting for 6-8 week, but should be fine to resume a normal life after that, including his baseball career.
Vasquez did not pitch in the major league in 2012 but was 1-6 with an 8.90 ERA in 2011 for Seattle.
