Volkswagen, Sean Gardner/Getty ImagesThe Force is with him.
Max Page, the 7-year-old thesp famed for playing a pint-sized Darth Vader in last year's hilarious Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial, has been released from a Los Angeles hospital after undergoing open-heart surgery and is now recuperating at home.
And wouldn't you know it, since having the operation five days ago at the Heart Institute at Children's Hospital Los Angeles to replace his pulmonary valve and repair a congenital heart defect, the first thing Page said he wanted to do was satisfy his sweet tooth.
"I am excited about a lot of things, especially having a milkshake," he told reporters at a press conference on Monday outside the hospital.
Max spent the first four days recovering in the hospital's Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit before being moved to the hospital's Cardiovascular Acute Care wing on Sunday.
The actor's pediatric cardiologist, Michael Silka, said Page's recovery is expected to take anywhere from six to eight weeks, but expressed hope that it'll be his last major surgery.
But it won't be without challenges, according to his mother, Jennifer.
"Max's body still needs to accept the new valve and we have to watch for infection," she said.
She and her husband, Buck, brought Max in for the procedure on Wednesday; seeing him leave the hospital today was extremely emotional, she said. Jennifer then paid tribute to the hospital staff, commending them for the wonderful care they provided her son.
Meanwhile, the budding child star, who's a cast member on The Young and the Restless and acted on NBC's Prime Suspect this season, had his own people to thank—like "people all around the world" who sent him get-well wishes.
"They helped me so much," he said.