Daniel Neeson, Liam Neeson's child, had surgery for a congenital cardiac condition.
Daniel Neeson, the son of Liam Neeson, is recovering. The Taken actor's son revealed that he just had surgery to treat an aorta enlargement and left ventricular dilatation brought on by a rare birth defect called a bicuspid aortic valve.
“About two percent of the human population has it, and most people don’t even know,” in an Instagram post on March 3, Daniel included pictures and videos from his hospital stay. “It can stay dormant for years before it begins causing valve failure or enlargement of the aorta.”
Daniel, who Liam revealed with his late wife Natasha Richardson, along with their 30-year-old son Micheál Richardson, was aware of his problem from birth, but he never knew when it would start to impact him.
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“I had biannual cardiology checkups for most of my life, monitoring my heart,” the 29-year-old added. “Eventually, I started to experience severe left ventricle dilation and aortic enlargement. I knew it was heading toward medical intervention. Some people with BAV are operated on later in life, but I drew the early-bird straw.”
Daniel, who is engaged to long-term partner Natalie Ackerman, stressed that having surgery took a significant amount of "surrender" even though he was aware of his situation.
“There’s something surreal about realizing that one of your biggest challenges was quietly developing inside you your entire life,” he went on. “Trusting that even if I couldn’t control the outcome, I could control my mindset and my deeper consciousness.”
He did, in fact, stress that he had to have a great deal of faith in both him and his "world-class surgeons" and nurses at New York-Presbyterian's Weill Cornell Medical Center.
“Overcoming this wasn’t about being fearless,” he continued. “It was about leaning into the healing energy and being as present as possible. I looked at this operation as a ceremony, not a procedure.”
Daniel continued by using his personal experience to emphasize the value of maintaining current health information.
“The recovery trail is beautiful, patient, and rewarding,” he stated. “Always advocate for yourself and listen to your body. Everyone should have their hearts checked by a cardiologist, even if they don’t have any known defects.”
Finally, he said, “Most importantly, surrender to the present moment. Don’t live in fear. The universe has your back when you learn to dance with it.”
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