After suffering aneurysms on two occasions, back in 2011 and 2013, Emilia Clarke is happy and ‘thankful’ that he brain is able to function with close to no consequence after the surgeries. However, getting to this stage was not an easy road to walk.
“The amount of my brain that is no longer usable — it’s remarkable that I am able to speak, sometimes articulately, and live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions.” – Clarke states in an interview for BBC One. “I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”
Game Of Thrones Star Emilia Clarke Suffered Two Aneurysms While Filming – Complete Parts Of Her Brain Are Missing
An aneurysm is a lump on a blood vessel, caused by weak vessel walls. As such, it is prone to bursting and causing balloon-like swellings. While some patients can pass with no major complications, some experience great trauma. The aneurysm is a really serious condition and is the main reason for causing strokes and brain damage in many patients. Fixing it requires the removal of tissue material surrounding it.
“There’s quite a bit missing!” – Emilia Clarke says. “Which always makes me laugh. Because strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone. And so the blood finds a different route to get around. But then whatever bit it’s missing is therefore gone.”
The first time that the actress is subject to such a condition is after the set for the first season of the Game of Thrones, back in 2011. This is the first time that she experiences something like this.
After going to the doctor, Emilia Clarke got the official diagnosis. She needed a brain surgery. Which as the name says, is something that is extremely serious and dangerous. The actress reveals that at one point she is even able to remember her name.
“I was suffering from a condition called aphasia, a consequence of the trauma my brain had suffered.” – the actress confesses in 2019 in an interview for The New Yorker. “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 — centers on language, on communication. Without that, I cannot continue.”
For those who are not aware of the terminology, aphasia is a disorder, usually present after brain trauma. While it causes speaking and comprehension disorders it can be present for a long time. Luckily for Emilia Clarke, this condition is only temporary in her case.
“I was sent back to the I.C.U. and, after about a week, the aphasia passed. I was able to speak.”
In 2013 again, she sensed signs of a new aneurysm and went to the doctors. Thankfully, she went there on time and caught the case before ‘bursting’ and making greater problems. The surgery went successfully and shortly after she was able to return to filming.
“The happy moments and being happy is what you’re going to see on your deathbed. You’re not going to remember the times when you took that super-cute selfie.” – Clarke says.
