Today, Max Page, the seven year old boy who play mini Darth Vadar in Volkswagen’s The Force will undergo open heart surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. He will have his pulmonary valve replaced and a whole in his heart fixed.
Not to be deterred by his health issue, Max has become an ambassador for Children’s Hospital in LA and, with help from Deutsch LA, has launched a donation site to raise money for kids with heart problems.
Here’s a portion of a letter from Max’s mother Jennifer that she wrote to Deutsch LA:
We told Max and Els [Max’s brother] Sunday afternoon. Initially, Max was crying and repeating how scared how he was. We unpeeled the layers by asking what exactly he was afraid of and tackled each issue as he could verbalize it. Blood draws, spending the night in the hospital and hurting are the big three. He was also very sad that summer would be in rest in recovery instead of playing baseball, golf and traveling. Around bedtime he asked if I would stay up with him and talk. He wanted to make a “CAN DO” list. So we wrote out all the things he can do so he could focus on those. Then he said we definitely had to “Fun Up” the house. So we went and got Els out of bed and spent the next hour redesigning each room with a theme, special rules and secret codes. In the Library (Els Room) we have to read with flashlights. On Whisper Lane (the hallway) you have to whisper. Going up the stairs you have to sing “Take me out to the ball game”. The most favorite is the garage–Explode Zone–science experiments and art projects, the messier the better.
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. Though we will still tremble with tears and have our overwhelming moments–we will focus on the “CAN DO” and enjoy our Fun Up House.
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!”
