Action legend Arnold Schwarzenegger, nearly 77, is telling a harrowing story from his third open-heart surgery in a new YouTube video. In it, he describes a complication from the procedure that put him in immediate peril.

The operation involved replacing a valve and was taken before filming began on Terminator: Dark Fate at the end of 2019. As he recounted waking up in the hospital after the surgery, however, his doctors stunned him with news of an unplanned complication: internal bleeding, which had occurred as a result of unforeseen complications during the procedure.

I woke up, he told viewers, and all of a sudden, the doctors were in front of me saying, ‘I’m so sorry, but it was unlike what we planned.’ They said we made a mistake, poked through the heart wall, and had to open me up very quickly to save my life. I was really freaking out.

The injury set up a brutal recovery for Schwarzenegger. However, he shared clips of himself from the hospital doing the first steps with a walker and then walking alone after some time, holding on to one hand on a bannister.

Schwarzenegger’s grit and optimism were major factors in his recovery. He emphasized that it was necessary to work out the lungs or else an individual could risk pneumonia, a complication known to kill people. Even when it made him look like an idiot waddling down the hallway, he did it anyway.

It was because I had a positive attitude. Three months later, I started filming ‘Terminator 6.’

In recent years, Schwarzenegger has become part of the wellness influencer scene and launched a successful health and fitness newsletter. He remains committed to remaining active and having fun.

Reflecting back on his journey, Schwarzenegger said, No retirement here. Still alive! So far, so good! My plans are to live forever-and go!

I shared this to inspire my daily email readers to get started with fitness no matter where they are starting from. There are times we are all starting from scratch - this was one of mine five years ago. All that matters is that you start. Subscribe: https://t.co/WXBvLkbVsI pic.twitter.com/yoICoLWxrh

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) September 5, 2023

My full workout with @BigRonColeman is live on my YouTube channel. Watch it NOW! 💪 https://t.co/Y0a4LaUf3H pic.twitter.com/xX1d23SmNo

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) August 8, 2023