"I could be sitting as a 27-year-old widow" - Dustin May's wife Millie opens up about hurtful jokes made while Dodgers pitcher underwent surgery

LA Dodgers ace Dustin May will return to pitch in a regular-season game on Tuesday for the first time since May 2023. When the right-hander takes his cleats to the mound of Dodger Stadium, his wife, Millie Trautner, will be in the stands, cheering out loud after the couple went through a tragic experience last year in July.

It was the night of July 10, 2024, when the couple was enjoying a dinner. A piece of salad got stuck in May's throat, requiring him to rush to the ER and forcing him to undergo an esophagus surgery in what was termed as a "near-death" experience by the couple in their latest interview with SportsNet LA.

Millie recalled how the doctors brought her up to speed regarding May's perilous situation.

"The doctor told us, 'Oh, you probably had about four more hours,'" Amelia said. "And I was like, "Four more hours until what?" And he said, "Until things were really, really bad.

"When we were first getting the news about Dustin and he was in surgery, it was brought up—not in a bad way, but just in a way of, "Oh my gosh, I could be sitting here as a 27-year-old widow right now." And those are just words you never think you're going to have to say, especially at such a young age."

In the aftermath, a sense of fear started to build inside Millie, who was praying for the best out of the situation. While she was keeping high morale, people outside started cracking jokes about their situation. She opened up about the same, saying how it was hard for her to live through it.

"The general public was notified, but then, of course, there were jokes," Millie added. "And it was so hard for me because Dustin hadn't even been on his phone yet.

"He was barely awake when the news came out. And it was hard for me to see all the stuff I was being tagged in or all the jokes that were being made while I was literally sleeping on a couch in the ICU. I was waking up every two hours when nurses came to check Dustin's vitals. So I think that was really hard—to see people making jokes when this was my real life that I was living."

Dustin May excited to make his return on the mound after he thanked his wife for saving his life

During the same interview, Dustin May mentioned that the proactiveness of his wife, Millie, might have just saved him to live another day. The Dodgers pitcher expressed his thanks to his wife, who made the best calls at the time.

"It was definitely life and death," May said. "Like, if I hadn't gone to the hospital that night, I would not be here today. And I definitely have to thank my wife for that—for saving my life that night. Because I definitely would not have gone if I had been by myself."

As he returns to the mound on Tuesday against the Braves, he's expected to receive a warm reception from LA fans.

"I'm very excited for Tuesday—just to kind of get the first one out of the way so we can stop talking and thinking about it. I’m ready to get going," May added.

May will hope everything goes well and that the couple can finally move on with life.