Chris Fountain has shared he suffered a terrifying mini-stroke that left him struggling to speak and walk.
The 35 year old actor, who is known for starring as Tommy Duckworth on Coronation Street, explained that he landed in Homerton University Hospital before being transferred to The Royal London Hospital to undergo tests in a specialist stroke unit August.
Fearing "life as I knew it was over," Chris was told by doctors that he had a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA), otherwise known as a mini-stroke, after a blood clot lodged in his brain.
“I woke up one morning and knew something wasn’t right. My mum called me and I just couldn’t get my words out," Chris recounted the experience to the Mirror.
He then walked around his house to look at different objects, such as his television or fridge, but while he could think of the words for them, Chris couldn't say the words out loud.
“I called 111 on my mum’s advice and they sent an ambulance for me, it was so scary," he said. “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."
After doctors told him that he suffered a TIA, he worried if he would have another one, if it would be worse, and if he'd lose the use of his arms and legs.
“I was really scared and just broke down in tears," he added.
Chris is now working with a speech therapist to retrain his brain after the mini-stroke. He's since got 90 per cent of his speech back, but is still struggling with reading out loud and sometimes stumbles over his words.
Calling the clot a "ticking time bomb", Chris went on to share his worries as he explained: “What’s scary is if I hadn’t have 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."
After the clot was under control, medics found Chris has a hole in his heart, which was the root cause of the blood clot that triggered the mini-stroke.
He's set to undergo a small surgery to close the hole, which will hopefully prevent any more clots.
Chris is now determined to live his life "to the max" after the ordeal showed him how "fragile life is".
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