MADRID (AP) - Spain’s former monarch Juan Carlos I says he’s feeling “phenomenal” with “new plumbing” after a successful triple bypass heart surgery.

“It feels like a truck ran me over, but now it’s about getting rid of the truck and looking ahead,” the 81-year-old king emeritus said Sunday as he was driven out of a hospital in the outskirts of Madrid.

“New pipes, new plumbing, (it feels) phenomenal,” he added.

Quirón Salud Hospitals Managing Director Lucía Alonso said the former king was discharged one week after the operation because he is “clinically stable.”

The operation was Juan Carlos‘ 17th surgical procedure and had been scheduled two months ago.

The king emeritus abdicated in 2014 in favor of his son, Felipe, ending a near 39-year reign. He retired from public duties last May.

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