Max George credits mum Barbara for ‘saving his life’ after his hands ‘turned blue’ and he struggled to breathe before getting his pacemaker fitted

Max George has credited his mother with saving his life by taking emergency measures as he struggled with the early symptoms of a heart condition.

The Wanted singer was rushed to hospital in December where surgeons installed a pacemaker in his chest after he fell ill while staying at his mother Barbara’s home in Manchester.

Now recovering at the Essex home he shares with actress girlfriend Maisie Smith, Max, 36, says he could have died if she had not taken decisive action.

He told it The sun: ‘I hadn’t felt myself for a few days, I started to feel a bit rough. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I was pretty lethargic and all, and had trouble getting out of bed. But I didn’t think it was anything serious.

‘Luckily I had gone to my mum’s to stay and I woke up and I remember looking at my hands and they were blue, and my arms were gray in color and I was freezing. I had trouble even sitting up in bed.”

Healthcare worker Barbara, 63, immediately realized her son was seriously ill and called a doctor friend, who urged Max to visit the nearest hospital.

The Wanted singer was rushed to hospital in December where surgeons installed a pacemaker in his chest after he fell ill while staying at her Manchester home

“I couldn’t move my arms and the worst feeling was that my throat felt like it was closing up,” he recalls. ‘It felt like someone had their hands around my neck.

‘Thank God I was staying with my mother, she saved my life.’

Max, who wrote a will in hospital, said being told he needed a pacemaker made him think about his ‘responsibilities’ and the loved ones he would leave behind if he died.

Recalling that “really scary” and sleepless first night in the hospital, the singer says he “struggled to move.”

Two days after writing his will, Max panicked again after his heart rate and blood pressure dropped, with the star admitting it was the ‘worst day’; during your hospital stay.

He said: ‘It was very close that night, it really felt like my neck was closing and then there was a real panic. I felt like I was dying. It was the worst, I felt emotional.”

Fortunately for Max, his pacemaker was fitted exactly a week after his admission to hospital, with the singer being conscious during the operation, although heavily sedated.

He also remembered the “grim” sight of the surgeon’s hand covered in blood as he pulled his hands away, although he was also “excited” at the thought that he would finally get better.

Max was fitted with a pacemaker after being admitted to hospital in December after having problems with his heart

After he recovered from surgery, Maisie was the first person to greet him, and Max says he felt like “a real person again” in that moment.

After he recovered from surgery, Maisie was the first person to greet him, and Max says he felt like “a real person again” in that moment.

He said: I also had a good heartbeat then. My heart rate just started to skyrocket. So I remember feeling my feet tingling, because I think the blood was definitely starting to pump properly.

“I thought, ‘Holy, I feel alive again,’ like it was a really nice feeling.”

Max wrote at the end of the year with a reflective post on Instagram: ‘2024.. Definitely a year I won’t forget!

‘I’m so lucky to have the life I have. I can’t wait for the next chapter, whatever challenges lie ahead.”