Emilia Clarke, popularly known as Daenerys Targaryen of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, has opened up about her ‘traumatic’ brain aneurysm that completely changed her life.
It was in 2011 when her dreams finally came true as she had completed filming the first season of GoT.
However, she was also hit by subarachnoid hemorrhage, bleeding in the space between the brain and subarachnoid space (surrounding membrane).
After her first surgery, Clarke suffered from a language impairment called aphasia, and she couldn’t even recall her own name. She “wanted to pull the plug” during those worst moments.
In an interview with PEOPLE, the 33-year-old said she received ‘unbelievable’ support from her family, medical staff, and emergency services.
“It was a brain aneurysm that ruptured, and it was pretty traumatic.
The paramedics were unbelievable. They’d given me drugs so I was in less pain, wrapped me up like a tortilla and made me laugh the whole way to the hospital. There I was, bleeding in the brain, and there we were in this ambulance having an absolute giggle.
They were so gracious,” she expressed.
“There was also my mum, when she went into mum superpower in the hospital: I had aphasia and she looked at me and went, ‘Yeah, I know exactly what you mean’. She made me believe she understood exactly what I was saying. It was genuinely her greatest moment.”
She added: “And every single nurse I came across was so kind. It’s why I became ambassador to the Royal College of Nursing in 2018. Nurses are the unsung heroes, they’re at people’s most frightening moments.”
While she was still in the hospital, she was also told that she had another but smaller aneurysm that would need to be monitored.
But in 2013, that small aneurysm doubled in size and the surgery to get rid of it was not successful, causing a massive brain bleed that forced surgeons to do emergency surgery.
“The whole experience inspired me to launch my charity SameYou. People’s lives are transformed completely after a brain injury, and the core of our work is recovery – it’s not just the first weeks that you need help, you still need help for years,” Clarke said.
“I wanted to match someone with a consistent person who has the answers and can hold their hand and tell them that they’re not alone.
“Being there when someone is scared, confused or angry is one of the kindest things you can do.”
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