Mercker Basks in His Eerie Escape

What are the odds of getting struck by lightning and winning the lottery, all in the same day?

Kent Mercker has no idea, but the Angel pitcher feels as if he experienced both on that scary evening of May 11, lightning striking in the form of a cerebral hemorrhage that knocked Mercker off the Edison Field mound, the lottery jackpot coming in the form of a most precious gift--life.

“I defied death, and I’m living to tell about it,” Mercker said on a conference call with reporters Wednesday, his first public comments since spending four days in UCI Medical Center’s intensive care unit and another week in the hospital. “It’s weird, man. This whole thing has been eerie.”

In discussions with doctors, Mercker learned that about 80% of cerebral hemorrhages are caused by aneurysms, and of those patients, roughly half die. Mercker, 32, did not suffer a dangerous aneurysm.

Of the 20% of brain-hemorrhage patients who don’t have aneurysms, some deteriorate because bleeding continues. Many require surgery and are susceptible to further brain damage.

Mercker’s bleeding stopped the night he suffered the hemorrhage and has not recurred. There are no plans for surgery, and doctors don’t anticipate any long-term problems.

“If you want to call me unlucky for having this, OK,” Mercker said. “But I’m in the minute percentage of people who didn’t have an aneurysm and didn’t need brain surgery. I’ve been blessed. It’s amazing things turned out the way they have. It’s crazy.”

Not so absurd is the possibility of Mercker pitching again. Once the left-hander completes a 21-day cycle of medication to prevent spasms in his brain’s blood vessels--he has nine days to go--Mercker plans to ease himself back into shape with an eye toward returning to the mound.

“I feel better every day, but it may take two months, it may take two days until I feel perfect again, that’s the unknown,” said Mercker, who plans to return to his Dublin, Ohio, home tonight or Friday and visit the Angels in Cleveland next week.

“I’m weak right now. I walked for 10 minutes [Tuesday] and was so tired I had to sit down. . . . I’m not going to rush back into this, but I don’t want to take my time, either.”

Doctors want Mercker to avoid strenuous activity for at least another week or two, but once he’s feeling physically fit, there will be no restrictions placed on him. And Mercker has been told there is no risk of a similar injury if he resumes his baseball career.

“I had a vessel in my brain that burst and disintegrated, it’s gone--that vessel no longer exists,” Mercker said. “It’s not like there’s a weakened vessel that can rupture again, so there will be no limitations. . . .

“If I have a headache or something, it’s not like a red flag. There’s no aneurysm, no structural problem. The doctors said this was like getting struck by lightning, and the odds of being struck again are slim.”

Mercker felt as if he were struck by a more concrete object that night in Edison Field. In the second inning of a game against the Texas Rangers, Mercker doubled over, placing his hands on his knees, after striking out Ruben Mateo.

“It felt like my head had filled up, like you were taking off in an airplane,” Mercker said. “Both my ears popped, and my hearing was muffled.”

Mercker remained in the game, but four pitches later, he hunched on one knee in front of the mound, pain shooting from the back of his neck to his forehead. He was pulled from the game and sent to the hospital, where Mercker endured the most difficult 24-hour period of his life.

“I don’t know if you’ve had a bad migraine or headache, but multiply that by 1,000,” Mercker said. “With every heartbeat, it felt like someone was banging my head with a hammer. You can’t be more miserable than I was for those 24 hours.”

Strong painkillers dulled the headaches, and Mercker, under the heavy medication, recalled drifting in and out of consciousness when the sobering news of his brain hemorrhage was delivered.

“I have never had a bad headache in my entire life, and then you hear doctors use the word, ‘death,’ and you start thinking, ‘Wow, this is for real, this is not a torn ligament in your elbow,’ ” Mercker said. “It was tough to hear that, but what can you do? You just have to hope for the best.”

Doctors performed numerous CT scans, arteriograms, angiograms--”I had every test, which did prove I have a brain, by the way,” Mercker joked--and found no definitive cause for the hemorrhage.

This wasn’t necessarily bad. No findings meant no aneurysm, no mangled blood vessels, nothing that could keep Mercker in danger. His condition stabilized, and Mercker was transferred from intensive care to a regular room May 15, spending eight days there before being released Tuesday.

Mercker said his spirits were lifted by daily visits from teammates, including Angel closer Troy Percival’s lunch deliveries, phone calls and letters from ex-teammates, coaches, fans, even stadium personnel.

“The support has been unbelievable--I even got a call from the guy who worked the door in Houston,” Mercker said. “Baseball is a great job, but I’ve made a lot of friends in the game, and you realize how important they are. I’ve only been an Angel for a month, and the response from fans was tremendous. It made me feel better. It made me smile at night.”

Mercker, who has two young daughters, had special praise for his wife, Julie, who “has been the most vital part of me getting through this,” Mercker said. “She’s the strongest woman in the world.”

A brush with death and more than a week in the hospital also gave Mercker plenty of time to think.

“You prioritize your life a bit,” Mercker said. “I look back on spring training, when I was disappointed about being in the bullpen, and I’m thinking, ‘Who cares?’ I can’t believe I complained. Rotation or bullpen, I’m still pitching in the big leagues.

“You put things in order. Baseball is important, but if there’s a risk of being in this situation again, it wouldn’t be worth it. I have a beautiful wife and two daughters. If I don’t play baseball again, it’s not the end of the world.”

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MINNESOTA 5

Game-saving throw by Clemente, game-

winning homer by Troy Glaus. Page 6