Emilia Clarke almost backed out of sharing her aneurysm story, but "knew it was [her] duty".
Emilia Clarke
The 32-year-old actress revealed last month she had suffered two life-threatening brain aneurysms after filming wrapped on the first season of 'Game of Thrones' - on which she plays Daenerys Targaryen - and has now said she almost decided not to tell her story because she was too frightened, but pushed forward because she wanted to help others.
Speaking to 'Extra' at the premiere for 'Game of Thrones' eighth and final season on Wednesday (03.04.19), she said: "Two weeks before, I was like, 'I don't think I can do it.'
"You just want people to think you can do the job that they gave you cause my God there are 20,000 other women that can do it as well. Yes, we are still fighting that fight, so showing any weakness is frightening.
"I knew that I had to tell this story because I wanted people who are suffering from it to know that this is also what brain injury looks like, and that you can do it. I wanted people to not feel alone if they did. I knew it was my duty, but it's hard."
Emilia spoke about her battle in an essay for the New Yorker, where she explained that in February 2011 she was in a workout class when she started feeling "shooting, stabbing, constricting pain" in her head and was rushed to the hospital for a three-hour surgery.
After undergoing surgery to remove the aneurysm, Emilia was told she had a second smaller one on the other side of her head, and by 2013 it had doubled in size and needed to be operated on again.
The beauty eventually recovered from her health scare, and has since set up the charity SameYou - which helps to provide treatment for people recovering from brain injuries and strokes - and has encouraged her fans to share their own recovery stories with the organisation.
Speaking to fans in an Instagram video, she said: "So, you've heard my story, and now we would like to hear yours. So please, go to SameYou.org and tell us your recovery story."
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