News: The Sweetest Villain - Darth Vader Is 6-Year-Old Heart Patient

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The Sweetest Villain: Darth Vader Is 6-Year-Old Heart Patient

By Max Follmer

Volkswagen's "Little Darth Vader" ad is one of 2011's most talked-about Super Bowl spots.

Watch the little squirt in full Vader regalia summoning "The Force" to start his family's car. Try, and fail, not to smile.

The story of the kid behind the mask is even more heart-warming.

Like a true Hollywood star, Max Page, the real-life Little Darth Vader, revealed himself to the world at a press conference in L.A. It turns out, he's a 6-year-old heart patient at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.

May the force be with Max Page. (Photo: Children's Hospital Los Angeles)

At 4 months old, Max was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect—Tetralogy of Fallot—and his parents sought treatment at Children's.

Dr. Michael Silka, the hospital's head of cardiology, says Max's prognosis is good. With careful monitoring and treatment, the boy should live a full and active life.

His parents hope the Super Bowl attention will give hope to other families when a young relative is diagnosed with a serious ailment.

“Before our experience with Max, I would walk through the hospital and see sick children and be afraid to look at them,” Max's dad Buck said in a statement released by the hospital. “Now, I make a point to look them all in the eye and say, ‘Hello.’”