Chris Fountain suffered a mystery stroke at the age of 35.
Chris Fountain suffers mystery stroke age 35
The former 'Coronation Street' star explained that he was suddenly unable to speak and ended up in hospital where he underwent an MRI scan that determined he had endured a transient ischaemic attack.
He said: "I woke up in the morning to a phone call from my mum. It was really weird, I picked up the phone and we were talking for a while and I was aware that I was trying to say something but my words weren't coming out. I was like 'I'll call you back' and thought I was just tired. So I got up and was wandering round the house and I couldn't put my finger on it but I knew something wasn't quite right. So I was trying to identify things in the house - there was a towel over the top of the door and I was looking at it. But my inside voice was perfect and in my head I'm looking at it thinking 'towel', but I couldn't say it. It was like my brain and my mouth weren't on the same page."
The ex 'Dancing on Ice' contestant went on to explain that he called 111 but struggled to recite his address on the phone and felt "embarrassed" and "stupid" when he ended up in hospital trying to describe his problems to a nurse.
"I picked up a book and tried to read the back of it and I just couldn't read it aloud. My mum said to call 111 and I couldn't give them my address. Physically, I felt fine but when I got to the hospital I sat with a nurse and it just became very very difficult to speak. I felt embarrassed and really stupid because I couldn't articulate myself. So they kept me in hospital and I had a CT scan which came back clear but they kept me overnight so I could have an MRI scan. After a while, the doctor came back and I remember it vividly because he said the word stroke'. It was a mini-stroke but as soon as he said that, all the stuff he said after, I just didn't take in. I keep myself fit, last year I went on a health kick and lost weight and I train all the time."
The former 'Hollyoaks' actor added that no-one could give him a reason for the mini-stroke but explained that things could have been much worse had he not taken action in the first place.
Speaking on ITV's 'This Morning', he added: "At the time, no one could give me a definitive answer. They tested for everything and they took loads of blood. I was in the hospital til Sunday and when they let me out I had a new perspective on everything. If I hadn't gone to hospital when I did - I had planned to go for a coffee and then go to the gym - if I had have done that, it could have clotted to a different part of my brain. So basically, I've found out since going back to hospital that I have a hole in my heart. The clot got through the hole and went to my brain and went to the left side, which is my speech and memory. As traumatising as it has been, it could have been so much worse. I could have lost the use of my arm or my face could have drooped"
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