The Wanted star Max George has spoken for the first time about his "terrifying" health ordeal - as he feared he would die before an operation to fit a pacemaker
08:06, 12 Jan 2025Updated 08:15, 12 Jan 2025
Max George from The Wanted believed that he was on the brink of death after a terrifying health battle.
The 36-year -old said that fear consumed him when doctors found a serious heart irregularity before Christmas.
As he waited for an operation to have a pacemaker fitted he said: "If I could go from being absolutely on top of the world to being told ‘the bottom part of your heart isn’t working’, I kept thinking in my head, ‘Well, what if the top half stops working overnight? ’"
His anxiety was exacerbated by the fact that he was the youngest person on the ward by decades. He added: "That first night I wrote a will, I thought I was going to die."
Max the used his iPhone to draft a will and lay out plans for his belongings.
The Strictly Come Dancing also opened up about the daunting day – December 13 – which he initially believed would be his last due to plunging heart rate and blood pressure.
"It was quite close that night, it really felt like my neck was closing up and that’s when the sort of panic really kicked in. I felt like I was dying. It was the worst, I felt emotional," he said. He was over the moon when his surgery was scheduled for December 18.
The star kept his followers in the loop on social media, sharing that his two-and-a-half-hour surgery included fitting a pacemaker. Despite complications like collapsed veins, he was home for Christmas.
He described the device as "the best Christmas present". After getting home, he posted: "Say hello to my little friend! " "Given the last 10 days, this is the best Christmas present I could’ve ever wished for."
"Pacemaker is in. Operation took around two and a half hours. The main issue being some of my veins had collapsed where the wires were meant to go... But the surgeons and nurses at the NHS have been incredible. I owe everything to them."
"The surgeon kindly put my pacemaker just underneath a very special tattoo of mine. So I’m sure it’s being looked after."
"Few more tests to do due to inflamed lymph nodes on my lungs, but that’ll be easy work! " "Time to rest and then tackle life full on once again."
"Thank you for all your support. It’s meant a hell of a lot to myself and my family."
In a heartfelt update on December 16, George revealed his urgent health situation, explaining he had "a 2:1 block in my heart" and that surgery was imminent, "way quicker than the doctors first thought".
Tom Parker, George's fellow band member from The Wanted, tragically passed away at 33 due to a brain tumour. Beyond his music career, George has graced the screen in 'Glee' and twirled on Strictly Come Dancing, where he met Maisie Smith in 2020.
Although they were just friends during the show, George and Smith, 23, only started their romance in 2022.
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