Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke has shared never-before-seen photos from her hospital recovery following a life-threatening brain aneurysm in 2011, according to a new report.
Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen on the hit TV series, opened up in a new interview with CBS “Sunday Morning” about surviving two brain aneurysms while filming.
The first one occurred in 2011, during the filming of season 1, when Clarke suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage—bleeding on the brain.
“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke says suffering brain aneurysms gave her a new perspective on life https://t.co/E9K8ue18xi pic.twitter.com/Urv6yeNv4q
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 6, 2019
“I was in the gym, and the most excruciating pain, like an elastic band just went like snap! in my head, like an enormous amount of pressure suddenly,” she told CBS “Sunday Morning.”
“And then very, very, very quickly I realized I couldn’t stand and I couldn’t walk. And in that moment, I knew I was being brain-damaged,” she said.
In the photos she shared during the TV segment, Clarke can be seen recovering post surgery in her hospital bed with various tubes hooked up to her body.
It really hurts to see these pictures. She’s been through SO MUCH and she kept smiling despite everything. Words can’t describe how proud I am of this woman. The strongest, most inspirational, bravest person I know. I love you so much, Emilia Clarke. ???? pic.twitter.com/CiPBtGzKPz
— ℝίτα ???? (@JonxDanyy) April 7, 2019
Despite the brain aneurysm, Clarke recovered and was able to return to film Season 2 of “Game of Thrones” six weeks later.
However, two years after her first brain aneurysm, Clarke had a second one; a deadlier one. Once again, Clarke was rushed to the hospital.
“So, with the second one, there was a bit of my brain that actually died,” she told CBS “Sunday Morning.” “If a part of your brain doesn’t get blood to it for a minute, it will just no longer work. It’s like you short circuit.”
“So, I had that. And they didn’t know what it was. They literally were looking at the brain and being like, ‘Well, we think it could be her concentration, it could be her peripheral vision [affected],'” she said.
“Game of Thrones” actress Emilia Clarke survived not one, but two brain aneurysms — a private health battle only recently revealed.
She details the “excruciating pain” to @thattracysmith this week on @CBSSunday pic.twitter.com/js0DGf3tOC
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 5, 2019
Clarke said with the second brain aneurysm, she was afraid she would never be able to act again.
“That was a deep paranoia, from the first one as well. I was like, ‘What if something has short-circuited in my brain and I can’t act anymore?’ I mean, literally, it’s been my reason for living for a very long time!” she said.
She admitted that the second one was a lot harder.
“I mean, the first time it was difficult. But with the second one, I found it much harder to stay optimistic,” she said on the show. “I definitely went through a period of being down, putting it mildly.”
In 2011, just as “Game of Thrones” was about to become a worldwide phenomenon, Emilia Clarke faced the first of two life-threatening brain aneurysms. https://t.co/9sidtH0QfK
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) April 9, 2019
Last month, Clarke first opened up about undergoing the two brain aneurysms in a personal essay for The New Yorker.
She wrote that she first felt the pressure in her brain at a gym, when she was 24.
“I tried to ignore the pain and push through it, but I just couldn’t. I told my trainer I had to take a break. Somehow, almost crawling, I made it to the locker room. I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill,” Clarke wrote.
“A fog of unconsciousness settled over me,” she continued. “From an ambulance, I was wheeled on a gurney into a corridor filled with the smell of disinfectant and the noises of people in distress. Because no one knew what was wrong with me, the doctors and nurses could not give me any drugs to ease the pain.”
Emilia Clarke for The New Yorker Magazine pic.twitter.com/wESu41Zmiy
— femme fatale (@eliesaaab) March 24, 2019
“The diagnosis was quick and ominous: a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a life-threatening type of stroke, caused by bleeding into the space surrounding the brain,” she wrote.
“As I later learned, about a third of SAH patients die immediately or soon thereafter,” she added. “In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug. I asked the medical staff to let me die.
“My job—my entire dream of what my life would be—centered on language, on communication. Without that, I was lost.”
In addition to sharing her story, Clarke also launched her own charity called SameYou, raising funds to treat those recovering from brain injury and stroke.
Recovery from brain injury and stroke is both tough and painful. It impacts millions of people worldwide every year, and this is why we have set up @SameYouOrg, dedicated to increasing access to rehabilitation services for young people #sameyoucharity https://t.co/99s9EiNYZx pic.twitter.com/EAxSvi2gTe
— SameYou (@SameYouOrg) March 21, 2019
