HONOLULU, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Popular Hawaiian entertainer Don Ho, famous for his 1966 hit "Tiny Bubbles," turned 76 Sunday.
After nearly 45 years of being on stage in Waikiki, the undisputed king of Waikiki entertainers admits age is finally a factor.
"I never thought I was my age until they showed me my picture taken in a hospital bed and underneath, (the caption) said I was 75," Ho said in an interview with the Honolulu Advertiser. "All these years, I thought I was going to live forever."
The picture was taken while Ho recovered from a cutting-edge procedure he sought to regenerate heart muscle last December in Thailand. In the process, Ho's stem cells, derived from his own blood, were injected into his heart.
Last year a Honolulu doctor told Ho his heart was damaged almost beyond repair. His heart was operating at 10 percent capacity, and he was often breathless and exhausted.
Ho said it feels like his heart is up to 50 percent capacity, bringing new hope.
His experience has turned him into a rabid reader of health and fitness magazines. He exercises, has checkups every three months, takes supplements and watches what he eats and what he does.
