On the mend! Neil Patrick Harris shared an update after husband David Burtka went under the knife earlier this week.
The A Series of Unfortunate Events actor, 47, revealed via Instagram that Burtka, 45, was doing well after undergoing a serious procedure.
“David is recovering from spinal surgery. It was fairly intensive, took over seven hours, but he’s in good spirits and doing well. It’s one of the scarier, more hopeless feelings — hoping for the best, trying not to fear the worst, waiting on a call with news,” Harris captioned the hospital snap, which showed the professional chef giving two thumbs-up. “Thankfully, all went according to plan. Whew … !”
The New Mexico native went on to gush about his husband: “I love you @dbelicious Your strength inspires me. And thanks to NY-Presbyterian Hospital for, well, everything.”
Fans flooded the comments with well-wishes for Burtka. “Been there!!! Best wishes for a quick recovery!!” one follower wrote. Another commented, “I hope he feels better soon. I wish health to you and your family.”
Harris didn’t initially reveal the reason for the procedure but did eventually share some details in a comment to a fan. He wrote that the surgery had been “planned for a while” and blamed it on “three disks being d–ks.”
Although the surgery was serious, the Gone Girl star and the Michigan native still managed to see the humor in it all. Harris shared a video via Instagram of Burtka on morphine hours after his surgery.
“Yo, yo, yo,” Burtka begins, showing off his neck brace. “I’m bringing. … This is the new fashions for 2021. I’m going to bedazzle it when I get out of here.”
Harris interjects to explain, saying, “He’s going in and out of lucidness and he has a button that he pushes.”
Burtka interrupts in a sing-songy manner, “I think it’s been time to push the button. Where’s my pain pills?”
On Thursday, Burtka shared a series of Instagram Story posts showing off the many gifts he received from friends and family while he was recovering. Among them was a bouquet of flowers “from the best husband” and three handmade cards from their twins, Gideon and Harper, 10. Burtka gushed, “They are the best!! So grateful! So lucky — and so high on OXY!” with a crying-laughing emoji.
Harris and Burtka celebrated 16 years of marriage in April 2020. Speaking with Us Weekly about their relationship, the How I Met Your Mother alum shared the key to keeping the flame burning after more than a decade.
“We tend to communicate and talk a lot,” he explained. “I think when you keep things pent up and you exist in, like a façade, it seems to lead to more problems, so we talk about stuff when we have problems with each other.”
His husband added with a laugh, “Tasers work really well too. At least they make the other person stop talking.”
