Pitcher suffers seizure, on medication

Brandon McCarthy, the pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks who underwent emergency surgery last year after he was struck in the head by a line drive, suffered a seizure last week while dining out with his wife.

McCarthy was having dinner with his wife, Amanda, at a restaurant in Phoenix when he suddenly slumped down in the booth. Amanda McCarthy climbed over to him, pushed the table back and called for help.

A CT scan at the Scottsdale Mayo Clinic revealed the pitcher had not suffered any further brain trauma, but was put on anti-seizure medication.

Doctors said the injury would not be a setback in McCarthy's recovery from a swollen shoulder, which landed him on the 15-day disabled list on May 31.

“I remember someone restraining me and telling me I had a seizure,” McCarthy said. “I don’t really remember much past that until I was at the hospital.”

Although this incident was McCarthy's first seizure, he knew his injury could make him prone to having them.

"The first night they thought they saw another spot of blood on my brain, where I had possibly hit it," he said, after doctors told him he may need surgery.

"That was the worst part, going to bed that night with the chance that I was going to have to have another surgery," he said. "But I woke up the next morning and they came in and said, no, that a lot of people had looked at it and said it was just sort of a shadow that kind of shows up, that it wasn't anything to be concerned with."

McCarthy said the medication means he can expect to resume life and hopefully avoid more seizures.

A line drive off the bat of the Angels' Erick Aybar sent McCarthy, who was then pitching for the Oakland A's, to the hospital Sept. 5. He underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain caused by intracranial bleeding and a skull fracture.

He was able to rejoin his team in the dugout for the postseason -- although he did not pitch -- and resumed baseball activities in time to start the 2013 season with his new team.