Ryan Thomas has shared the supportive message he sent to his friend and former Coronation Street star Chris Fountain after he spoke out about suffering a mini stroke. The actor, who played Tommy Duckworth in the ITV soap, revealed he spent five days in a London hospital after waking up at home unable to speak properly in August.
Chris said he was left "speaking like a toddler" after doctors discovered he had suffered a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) – known as a mini stroke – after a blood clot lodged in his brain. After several days of undergoing tests at a specialist stroke unit at the Royal London Hospital, medics had determined the actor had a hole in his heart which had caused the blood clot to travel to his brain, triggering the stroke.
Chris, who appeared in Corrie from 2011 up until being axed in 2013, said he had broken down in tears when doctors informed him he had had a TIA, and only called 111 after waking up to a phone call from his mum and being left unable to get my words out.
After speaking out about his health issues, Ryan, who is known for playing Jason Grimshaw in the ITV soap, took to Instagram to show Chris his support. He put up an Instagram story with a grab of a message he sent to his friend, who supported him during a charity challenge last year which saw him walk 10 marathons in 10 days.
Ryan told Chris: "I love you so much bro I'll always be by your side good and the bad we're in it together." The dad-of-three then encouraged his followers, on World Mental Health Day, to #TellAMate - an online movement to show support for your friends. He also reshared Chris' video in which he spoke about his stroke scare.
"Whatever life throws at this guy he keeps bouncing back," Ryan typed. "Beyond proud of you my brother," he added, tagging Chris and adding a red love heart.
On Tuesday after sharing his story, Chris, who is also known for playing Justin Burton in Channel 4's Hollyoaks appeared on This Morning and told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that he thought he was fit and healthy before his shocking diagnosis after an emergency brain scan.
"I kept myself quite good last year. I went on a mass health kick and lost loads of weight," the former soap star told them. "No one could give me a definitive answer as to why, they wanted to test for everything. They transferred me to London, and then they let me out and I had a different perspective on everything. I found out that I have a hole in my heart.
"Apparently, this is quite common but a blood clot got through the hole and moved to the left hand-side of my brain." He then added: "As traumatic as it has been it could have been a lot worse. I could have lost the use of my arm or my face could have dropped."
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