Actor Chris Fountain, who played Tommy Duckworth on ITV’s Coronation Street, opened up about suffering a terrifying health ordeal in August of this year.
Chris appeared on Tuesday morning’s instalment of This Morning on ITV and told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield how his life has changed since the ordeal.
Doctors told him he had suffered a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) – known as a mini stroke – after a blood clot lodged in his brain, the actor said.
He said he spent five days in the hospital in London after waking up at home and being unable to speak properly.
The 35-year-old star said he might have died had he not gone to hospital as quickly as he did.
Chris also posted a video on his Instagram account, detailing the terrifying ordeal.
From his Instagram post:
As some of you may have noticed, I have been quiet on my socials recently. This video is to explain why. On the 11th of August, after waking up unable to speak properly or read aloud, I went to hospital with a suspected mini stroke, or TIA. (Transient ischemic attack)
This was confirmed after a number of scans. I was in complete shock, inundated with questions. Why had this happened? What does this mean going forward? Will this happen again? It was a terrifying experience, but could have been a lot worse.
The blood clot passed through and damaged part of the left side of my brain where speech and memory is controlled. As an actor, spending most of my life reading and remembering things it seems strange to feel lucky that this was where I had problems. If the clot had been in another part of my brain, I could have suffered much more serious implications.
I’ve been out of hospital for about 2 months and I’m happy to say that recovery of my speech and reading is improving daily, I’m not at 100% just yet but I’m hopeful over time I’ll get there.
I want to thank my mum @lyndiloo01 for convincing me to call 111 and go to hospital. My original plan was to go to the gym and see if it just went away! That decision could have been catastrophic. She repeated F.A.S.T that she’d seen on adverts on spotting a stroke. Thank goodness she had.
This has given me real perspective on what things matter to me in life and despite being a very tough time, I’m trying to take the positives from it. I’ve realised that life is fragile and that cherishing every single moment of it should be none negotiable. So that’s what I intend to do from this moment on.
Thankyou to every single person who has been by my side during this. My friends & family have been impeccable and I’m so grateful for you all. Even when I’ve been frustrated and upset and undoubtedly tough to be around. Big thanks to my friends for visiting me in hospital and a special mention to @ryanthomas84 who didn’t leave my side throughout. I also want to thank all the staff at both Homerton hospital and the Royal London stroke ward. The care I received was absolutely unbelievable. ❤️ #ministroke#TIA#strokesurvivor
