Former Coronation Street actor Chris Fountain has said he was left “speaking like a toddler” after suffering a mini stroke.
In August, the 35-year-old actor who played Tommy Duckworth in the soap spent five days in a London hospital after waking up unable to speak.
In an interview with The Mirror, he said doctors discovered a blood clot lodged in his brain had caused him to suffer a transient ischemic attack (TIA).
“I woke up one morning and knew something wasn’t right. My mum called me and I just couldn’t get my words out. I started walking round my house looking at things and I could think what the word was, like television or fridge, but I couldn’t say it.
“I called 111 on my mum’s advice and they sent an ambulance for me, it was so scary.
“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.”
When doctors informed the actor that he had suffered a TIA, he broke down in tears.
“I just couldn’t believe it, there was a moment of sheer panic just fearing what it meant for the rest of my life.”
As a result of several days of tests at the Royal London Hospital’s specialist stroke unit, doctors determined the actor had a hole in his heart that allowed the blood clot to travel to his brain, triggering the stroke.
His condition will be treated with surgery in order to avoid recurrences.
“Going through something like this makes you realise just how fragile life is, it can really be snatched away from you at any moment. I feel like it’s the wake-up call I needed to live my life to the max and just not sweat the small stuff anymore.”
Fountain first found fame as Justin Burton in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks between 2003-2009, before playing the role of Tommy in the ITV soap between 2011-2013. He was dropped from Corrie after a video surfaced of him performing a rap that promoted sexual assault.
