On Friday, we reported that Arnold Schwarzenegger had been rushed into emergency heart surgery after his experimental catheter valve replacement failed. Doctors at Cedars-Sinai were ready for this eventuality and were fully prepared to replace the valve at short notice. Mercifully, the operation went off without a hitch and Arnold’s spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, quickly reported that the star was in stable condition after surgery.
Now, we know what his first words were upon waking – and they’re suitably epic. After first opening his eyes and coming to, the star uttered “I’m back,” obviously a reference to his iconic catchphrase “I’ll be back,” which I’m guessing he said just before they anesthetized him and began the surgery. To be fair, if I was Arnie, I’d be saying this before every risky procedure. After all, it’d be a decent silver lining if you were to pop it that your final words would be so badass.
“I’ll be back,” originally spoken in The Terminator, ranks as one of the most famous movie quotes of all-time and is instantly recognizable in Arnie’s Austrian drawl. But according to the actor himself, fans these days are more likely to yell “Get to the choppah!” at him, referencing a famous (and meme-friendly) line from Predator.
Unfortunately, yelling “I’m in the choppah!” after surgery would probably result in him being tested for brain damage, so, on the whole, I’m glad he went with “I’m back.” Also, I won’t even get into the inappropriateness of “It’s not a toomah” from Kindergarten Cop.
Anyhow, this surgery looks like it’ll be just a speed-bump on Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s busy work schedule, which includes Terminator 6, a sequel to Twins called Triplets and Viy 2: Journey to China, opposite Jackie Chan later this year.
Let’s just hope the actor gets some time to “let off some steam” soon though, as he could surely use a break.