Former Coronation Street star Chris Fountain gave his first television interview since sharing that he had suffered a frightening mini stroke at the age of 35.
The actor, known to millions as Weatherfield’s Tommy Duckworth, spent five days in a London hospital after waking up at home unable to speak properly in August.
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.
Chris detailed being left fearing for his life after doctors discovered he had suffered a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA), known as a mini stroke, after a blood clot lodged in his brain.
Medics got the clot under control and further tests showed the actor has a hole in his heart which caused the blood clot to travel to his brain and trigger the stroke.
Chris will now have to undergo a small surgery to patch up the hole and hopefully prevent any more clots travelling to his brain.
The actor is now working with a speech therapist to retrain his brain and has regained 90 percent of his speech.
Chris told Holly and Phil: “As traumatising as it’s been – and it’s been a really weird few months, trying to accept and move forward and process things – it could have been so much worse for me. I could have lost the use of my arm. My face could have dropped.”
He continued: “The first few days out of hospital I was still stumbling over my words quite a bit. It became really frustrating and I was quite irritable.
“I knew what I was trying to say, but I couldn't quite get my words. I would stop halfway through sentences. It was quite tough.”
Speaking for the first time since his mini stroke in August, Chris previously told the Mirror he was gripped by ‘sheer panic’ as he realised something was wrong.
“I woke up one morning and knew something wasn’t right,” he said. “My mum called me and I just couldn’t get my words out.
“I started walking around my house looking at things and I could think what the word was, like television or fridge, but I couldn’t say it.
“I called 111 on my mum’s advice and they sent an ambulance for me, it was so scary.
“I felt stupid because I knew exactly what I wanted to say to the doctors, but I couldn’t get the words out, I was speaking like a toddler, I was really embarrassed.
“When the doctors confirmed I’d had a TIA and said the word stroke, I just couldn’t believe it, there was a moment of sheer panic just fearing what it meant for the rest of my life.
“Would I have another one? Would the next one be even worse and I’d lose the use of my arms or legs? I was really scared and just broke down in tears.”
The Bradford-born star added: “What’s scary is if I hadn't called 111 when I did and got to hospital so quickly I don’t know if that clot could have travelled to the wrong place in my brain, I could have died. That clot was like a ticking bomb in my head.”
