Heart op for VW's mini-Darth Vader
2012-06-18 14:08
THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE: VW ad star Max Page will have many weeks of recovery ahead of him but we hope this little trooper makes it through and perhaps stars in another hilarious advert in the near future.
Max Page, a seven-year-old boy who wowed audiences in his role as a miniture Darth Vader during Volkswagen's hugely succesfful advert, has undergone heart surgery.
Max was born with a congenital heart defect and has been in and out of hospital wards his whole life, the latest surgery of which was to replace a valve. The valve will last for 15 years and won't require invasive surgery to replace it.
He is expected to be released within the next few days but faces six to eight weeks of recovery.
HEALING THROUGH 'THE FORCE'
Max, who serves as a junior ambassador for the hospital, said: "I kind of know I have to go through it, and don't have an option, so I choose a good attitude.
"I'll feel weak after this but it will get better and better. I think I know it will be a good thing to go through this. 'The Force' can really achieve anything," he said.
According to the London Daily Mail the boy's mother, Jennifer Page, commented: "He took the time to cry and be scared and jumped on board with a positive attitude."
Max was first diagnosed with a heart defect when he was a few months old and was later fitted with a pacemaker.
The 2011 Volkswagen commercial is one of the highest-rated videos on YouTube earning 53-million views. Max has also appeared in the soap opera 'The Young and the Restless'.
Find out more about heart valve disease here!
Watch the advert below:
THE FORCE IN ACTION: Young Max Page as 'Star Wars' Darth Vader on the famous VW advertisement.
