Update – March 23: Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has thanked fans for the response after she opened up about suffering from two brain aneurysms.
"A million million thank yous to everyone who has read shared and sent love for my story, it’s a beautiful thing to behold and I can’t quite believe how many of you this has affected!" she captioned the video posted to Instagram.
In the clip itself, the actress reiterated her thanks as she added that the response has been "overwhelming". She also encouraged everyone to share their own stories of recovery as she launches the SameYou charity for brain injury and stroke victims.
"The response to my story has been overwhelming – and deeply, deeply moving," Emilia said. "So, you've heard my story, and now we would like to hear yours."
Original: Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has revealed that she suffered from two brain aneurysms that almost ended her life after filming the first season of the HBO phenomenon.
In a personal essay published in The New Yorker today (March 21), Clarke opened up about her major health scare for the first time.
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The actress explained that during a workout session with her personal trainer, she experienced shooting, stabbing and constricting pains in her head. An MRI scan revealed an aneurysm that required brain surgery.
Clarke had to take two weeks out to recover from the surgery, in which time she couldn't even remember her own name.
"Nonsense words tumbled out of my mouth and I went into a blind panic. I’d never experienced fear like that — a sense of doom closing in," she said.
"I could see my life ahead, and it wasn’t worth living. I am an actor; I need to remember my lines. Now I couldn’t recall my name."
Matters only worsened for Clarke, however. During her time in hospital, a second aneurysm was discovered that soon doubled in size – and this time the operation to remove it wasn't successful.
Related: Game of Thrones season 8: Where is everyone now?
Clarke recalled how she woke up screaming in pain as the procedure failed, and that she was told by the doctors that her chances of survival were slim if they didn't operate again. This time, however, they would have to go through her skull to get to her brain.
She wrote: "I looked as though I had been through a war more gruesome than any that Daenerys experienced. I emerged from the operation with a drain coming out of my head. Bits of my skull had been replaced by titanium. These days, you can’t see the scar that curves from my scalp to my ear, but I didn’t know at first that it wouldn’t be visible."
Despite her terrifying experience, Clarke was back promoting Thrones with her cast mates after just a few weeks of recovery.
She kept the news of her surgeries a secret until now, and has since created the SameYou charity for brain injury and stroke victims.
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