Joe DiMaggio Leaves Hospital
Joe DiMaggio was released from the hospital Monday, completing an astounding recovery from the lung cancer surgery and pneumonia that nearly killed him.
The 84-year-old Yankee great spent 99 days in the intensive care unit at Memorial Regional Hospital, and even received last rites after he lapsed into a coma. But each time doctors said he probably wouldn't survive, DiMaggio proved them wrong.
Now, he's preparing for the beginning of the baseball season.
DiMaggio is looking forward to opening day in Yankee Stadium in April, said his lawyer, Morris Engelberg.
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"Mr. DiMaggio wishes to express his thanks to the doctors, ICU nurses and staff at Memorial Regional Hospital, for helping him recover from infectious pneumonia, as well as to the 250 million people out there who are praying for him," Engelberg said in a statement.
DiMaggio, voted baseball's greatest living player in 1969, entered the hospital Oct. 12 and had surgery two days later to remove a cancerous lung tumor. He had a series of setbacks after a serious infection set in.
On Dec. 10-11, DiMaggio was in a coma and near death, with Dr. Earl Barron calling it a "very dire situation." DiMaggio's family came to his bedside but the Hall of Famer awakened.
"It's completely unexpected," Barron said at the time, attributing the turnaround to a decision to administer an antibiotic intravenously rather than orally.
After he came out of the coma, the notoriously private DiMaggio ordered doctors to stop giving public updates on his condition.
Just 5½ weeks ago, even some of DiMaggio's closest friends had given up hope. His family signed a "do not resuscitate" order, which Barron said would allow DiMaggio to die with a "measure of dignity."
"We're near the end," Engelberg said then. "It's a question of hours, perhaps days."
New York Yankes owner George Steinbrenner visited DiMaggio in early January. Before DiMaggio took ill, Steinbrenner had wanted the man who hit in 56 consecutive games to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the World Series opener.
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