The Mother of Dragons recently revealed that she underwent surgery—twice—for life-threatening brain aneurysms. Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is sharing her story now in hopes raising awareness of her condition, which affects more young people than you might think.
Clarke recently shared her story of undergoing brain surgery for two aneurysms in a personal essay in The New Yorker. Her first aneurysm was discovered while filming Game of Thrones in 2011. She described her diagnosis, surgery and the long path to recovery after. “On the set, I didn’t miss a beat, but I struggled,” Clarke wrote. “Season two would be my worst. I didn’t know what Daenerys was doing. If I am truly being honest, every minute of every day I thought I was going to die.”
Along with her published essay, Clarke launched a new charity called Same You to help raise awareness about the recovery needs of those who have suffered a brain injury, especially young people. “I am calling for the prioritization of increased funding for neurorehabilitation,” Clarke’s blog on the Same You site said. “Everyone after leaving hospital should have the multi-disciplinary rehabilitation and recovery care they desperately need.”
You can read Clarke’s moving essay for The New Yorker here.
—Shahrzad Warkentin
Featured photo: gameofthrones via Instagram
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