As disappointed as Dillon Gee is to potentially lose the rest of his season, he feared he was going to lose far more. When doctors told the Mets’ starting pitcher he had a large blood clot in his right shoulder, and took him aside to show him the clot that had him unable to feel his fingers, Gee said he thought he was going to die.
“My arms felt tired, I couldn’t pick it up, the numbness in my hands, I knew something was a lot different,’’ Gee said before the Mets’ 7-6 loss to the Dodgers Friday night at Citi Field. “When I finally went to the hospital and I’m diagnosed with a pretty big clot in my right shoulder, it’s pretty scary. Immediately I think I’m going to die. … You hear clot and you think it’s going to go somewhere else.
“They took me in the room and said, ‘We want you to see this.’ I had an MRA [Magnetic Resonance Angiogram exam] when they first diagnosed it, and you could see the dye was going down and then for about an inch nothing was there. They said this is pretty serious. That’s when I was freaking out.’’
Gee, who had an arterial blood clot and was later told the artery was 96 percent blocked, had surgery last week to repair the damaged artery in his right shoulder.
Though he’s far more optimistic about his chances of pitching again this season — hoping to be cleared to start working out in three weeks and throwing in six — manager Terry Collins seemed more inclined to look toward 2013.
“It’s going to be a while before he starts throwing or doing anything,’’ Collins said. “The doctors have said up to eight weeks, so you’re looking at the middle of September. So, I think we’ll wait and see where we are, because if we have to rush him back, it’s probably not a wise decision.
“If he starts throwing in six weeks, it’ll be like his first day of spring training. So now you’ve got two, three or four weeks to get him built up to where he’s going to compete here.
“Now you’re talking about a date where if we’re in the hunt, if we’re right there and if Dillon’s back and he’s at 100 percent, then it’s something we’ll do. But if not, I’m sure we’ll look toward next year.”
Gee, who had a vein taken out of the groin area and used to widen the artery, sounded intent on at least trying to return this season, no matter how slim the odds.
“It’s tough to deal with knowing you’re going to miss some time,” Gee said. “I feel like I owe the team to be here, like I let them down. But at the same time, it’s a freak accident and I’ve got to try to get better. I went from being scared at first to really disappointed. It’s tough.
“I think if need be I could be [back] fairly quick. If you push it, I think I could be ready. … If I really, really push it I’m sure it could be shorter.’’
Collins doesn’t sound like the Mets will allow that.
“When Dillon Gee’s ready to start resuming his training program, there will be six sets of eyes that I know of in Florida, and they do a pretty good job of making sure it stays in the range of what the doctors [want],’’ said Collins. “Dillon may want to rush back, but I’m sure they’ll have some reins on him.’’
At the moment, Miguel Batista (0-1, 4.00 ERA in four starts) has filled Gee’s spot in the starting rotation.
“[Batista’s] been really effective,’’ Collins said. “If he pitches like he’s capable of pitching [today] I can see him being a big part of our rotation.’’