Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has thanked fans for their “profoundly moving” support after the actor revealed she had suffered two brain aneurysms in the past.

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The Daenerys Targaryen actor took to Instagram to acknowledge the huge response to her recent essay in which she recalled the near-death experiences.

“Hi everyone. I had to put a video up to say thank you,” said a clearly beaming Clarke.

“The response to my story has been overwhelming and deeply and profoundly moving. So thank you so much.”

In the video’s caption, Clarke added: “A million million thank you's 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!”

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The star also encouraged others who have suffered brain injuries or a stroke at a young age to share their story via her new charity SameYou.

Recently, Clarke opened up about her two life-threatening brain aneurysms, the first of which ruptured in 2011. She revealed how during the gap between the first two seasons of Game of Thrones she suddenly suffered a “shooting, stabbing, constricting pain” in her head while exercising.

After being rushed to hospital, Clarke was diagnosed with a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), from which a third of sufferers die immediately or soon after. She was only 24 at the time.

Luckily, Clarke recovered from the surgery and a condition called aphasia, which temporarily left her “muttering nonsense” and unable to remember her name.

“In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug,” Clarke wrote in The New Yorker essay. “I asked the medical staff to let me die. My job – my entire dream of what my life would be – centred on language, on communication. Without that, I was lost.”

Clarke suffered from a second aneurysm in 2013, which required surgeons to break into her skull.

“I emerged from the operation with a drain coming out of my head,” Clarke remembered. “Bits of my skull had been replaced by titanium […] I looked as though I had been through a war more gruesome than any Daenerys experienced.”

Fortunately, Clarke said she is now fully recovered and her charity SameYou now aims to support people recovering from brain injuries and strokes.

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You can find out more about Clarke’s story and ways to contribute to SameYou here.


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