Volkswagen’s Darth Vader Child From Southern California
A 6-year-old heart patient from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles appeared in a Super Bowl commercial today, playing Darth Vader in a car commercial.
Max Pagehasm, who is also part of the cast of “The Young and the Restless,” became a YouTube sensation as the little `man behind the Darth Vader mask” in a Volkswagen ad that aired during Super Bowl XLV.
In 24 hours, the number of YouTube hits to the TV commercial went from 1.5 million on Thursday to more than 7 million on Friday.
When Max was just 4 months old, he was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect.
His parents, Buck and Jennifer Page, brought Max to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, where he received a pacemaker.
“Max’s prognosis going forward is very good,” said Dr. Michael Silka, head of the hospital’s Division of Cardiology and Max’s pediatric cardiologist. “He can essentially have normal activity and with careful care, a full life is a reasonable expectation.”
Max’s parents see the attention as an opportunity to reach out to parents whose children suffer from heart conditions.
“When we first received the diagnosis, we were lost,” Buck Page said.
Going through the experience, they learned how traumatic it can be as a parent of a child with a serious ailment.
They said they hoped that in sharing their experience, they can help other parents of sick children understand they are not alone.
“Before our experience with Max, I would walk through the hospital and see sick children and be afraid to look at them,” Buck Page said. “Now, I make a point to look them all in the eye and say, `hello.”’
