Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed that an error in a heart procedure almost cost him his life shortly before filming Terminator: Dark Fate.
According to him, what was supposed to be a non-invasive part of his third heart surgery went wrong when the doctor accidentally punctured his heart wall.
"I was really freaking out. I woke up, and the doctors are standing in front of me saying 'We're very sorry, we were only supposed to replace the valve, but accidentally poked a hole in your heart. We had to hook you up very quickly to save your life.'"
"The bottom line is, you can't roll the clock back. I was in the middle of a disaster, so I had to think how I would get out of it. So what you need to do is shift gears. I said to myself, the first thing I need to do is get out of this hospital."
"How I got of the hospital was, I got out of bed and started walking. Ten steps, then around the nurses' station, then up and down the hallway. I called my buddies in and told them them 'You guys need to pump me up, you've got to count the steps I take,' and that's what they did. They'd come in, say 'Arnold, it's time to walk the hall,' and then go with me cheering 'Wow, you're doing so well.' I wasn't doing well - I looked like an idiot wobbling around - but I was getting going."
"The doctor said that if I don't exercise my lungs, I could get pneumonia and die. I really wanted to get out of the hospital and back into training, because in a few months we would start shooting Terminator 6. I needed to be in shape for the running, moving things, fight scenes, and I did it. I had a positive attitude, a great support system with the guys that pumped me up. We can't do any of this by ourselves, but I had a great support system, and by the time we started shooting Terminator 6 I was all back together again."