MNN - Mother Nature Network

Max Page, the awesome 7-year-old who played Little Darth Vader in Volkswagen’s popular 2011 Super Bowl commercial, will undergo open-heart surgery today in Los Angeles. Max's surgery will repair a congenital heart defect — a hole in his heart that he was born with. Doctors will also replace his pulmonary valve.

 

Max and his mom, Jennifer Page, talked to Matt Lauer of the "TODAY" show in February 2011 about Max's rise to stardom. Momma Page mentioned then that Max had been diagnosed with a heart defect when he was only a few months old and was using a pacemaker.

 

Max has apparently been using his newfound fame by serving as an ambassador for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, working to raise money for other children with heart defects and talking to kids about using the power in them to achieve big things.

 

In an email released by the Deutsch LA ad agency, Jennifer Page described how Max is handling his fear about the upcoming surgery:

 

“Last night, I wanted to make sure he was doing as well as he seemed. He said, ‘Mom I don’t have a choice. I have to go through it. I don’t like it and it’s still scary — but I have to. So I think I might as well go through it with a good attitude.’ So as we hop on Max’s coattails to go on this ride, we too shall do it with a good attitude."

 

“Mighty Max wants me to include one more thing — one of the lines he uses when he speaks to groups: ‘Kids, if you use your FORCE and dream big, you can achieve anything. We may be small — but we’re mighty!’”

 

May the Force be with you today, Mighty Max Page! Catch him again in the ad that made him famous and send some good juju his way today.