A Little Boy With A Big Heart
As I write this blog posting, small business owners and their employees are struggling to recover from disasters, such as severe wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico. The story of Max Page puts things in perspective.
Today Max is undergoing open-heart surgery in Los Angeles. Max is better known as the child who played Darth Vader in Volkswagen’s 2011 Super Bowl commercial. He is a seven-year-old boy born with a congenital heart defect. The surgery will replace his pulmonary valve and fix a hole in his heart. Max uses the celebrity that came from his television commercial to raise money for other children with heart defects, as he is an ambassador for Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Click here to support his cause.
The agency that developed the Volkswagen commercial released an e-mail from Max’s mother, Jennifer, which reads in part:
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!”
Max and his family show humor and courage in not only facing adversity, but are using it to help others. Let’s keep Max in our prayers today and send our best wishes for his speedy recovery.