THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Max Page Back Home After 13th Heart Surgery
Child actor Max Page was back in the hospital for another operation, but thankfully is back home now and recuperating. Best known for his appearance as the “Darth Vader Kid” in the popular Volkswagen TV commercial, Page is beloved to soap fans for playing young Reed Hellstrom on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS. While Max still has eight weeks of recovery ahead of him, things are already looking good. “Max arrived home late Monday night,” his mother, Jennifer Page, reported on his blog. “All that his body has been through the last eight days and he’s not home on any medication!”
Born with a congenital heart defect, this was the boy’s 13th surgery, and one of his pulmonary valves was replaced on Feb. 6. “Dr. Vaughn Starnes was able to place a large size in Max that should last him several years,” she explained. “Because of Max’s history with Endocarditis — a bacterial blood infection — he will remain in the hospital until at least Sunday for a course of IV antibiotics.
“In true Mighty Max effort,” she added, “just five hours after surgery he asked to stand and sit up. Which he did for almost an hour. The pain is excruciating with chest tubes still in, but he knows short-term pain, long-term gain. In order to get the tubes out, this is the process.”
Max and his mother before his 13th heart surgery. (Photo Credit: Jennifer Page)
Max remained in the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for a week and then returned home for an 8-10 week recovery. His mother has asked that fans keep Max in their prayers, and to offer words of encouragement or send him something, they contact her at jenniferpage@aol.com or his father at @wbuckpage@aol.com. In addition, donations to the CHLA Heart Ambassadors will support Max and other children and can be made at www.chla.org/MAX.
Over the years, Max has remained strong throughout all of his hospitalizations and surgeries, and has become an advocate for children’s health care. In July of 2017, he met with congressmen in Washington D.C. to speak with them about better health care policies for kids. “I want the senators to put a face to children’s health care,” Max said at the time. “I tell them my story, what surgeries I have had, and how much I needed my doctors now and in the future.”
We wish Max all the best for a speedy recovery and hope he gets to go back to playing baseball again in the spring as planned. For more on your favorite Y&R stars — past and present — keep reading the CBS edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.
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