Chris Fountain says his mini-stroke could have caused the loss of his arm and his face to drop

Former Coronation Street star Chris Fountain opened up on Tuesday’s episode of This Morning about shock after suffering a mini-stroke two months ago.

The 35-year-old actor was admitted to Hackney’s Homerton University Hospital after the incident on August 11, after which he continued to talk “like a toddler.”

He said he realized something was seriously wrong after he woke up to find he could no longer utter his speech, prompting the terrified star to call 111 from his London home and request an ambulance.

Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, he explained, “I was woken up in the morning by a phone call from my mother. While on the phone I tried to say something but I couldn’t remember what I said and it didn’t come through. I said I would call her back and couldn’t put my finger on it.

“I tried to identify things in my house, like a towel, but couldn’t say what I was thinking, my brain and mouth were not on the same page.

“What made it clearer to me, I picked up a book and tried to read it. It worked in my head, but not out loud.”

He continued: “Physically I felt fine, but when I was with the nurse it became very difficult to talk, I was ashamed and panicked and scared.

“They kept me in the hospital for a CT scan which was clear and then they kept me in overnight and tested me for an MRI scan.

Chris said candidly about his shock, saying: ‘The doctor said the word ‘stroke’ and even though it was a mini stroke I looked at him as soon as he said it and wondered why this happened, will it happen again? to happen?

“It was as if someone had pulled a rug from under me. I keep myself fit and did a crazy health kick last year.

“I found out that I have a hole in my heart, apparently this is very common and many people will not realize, but the clot went through the heart to the brain.”

Despite the horrible experience, Chris explained that he was lucky, saying, “As traumatic as it has been, it could have been so much worse for me. I could have lost my arm and my face could have fallen.

“For the first few days after I got out of the hospital, I stumbled a little over my words and got annoyed.”

The actor – best known for his former role as Tommy Duckworth in Corrie – later found out that he had suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), commonly referred to as a mini-stroke, as a result of blood clots in his brain.

He told the mirror“When the doctors confirmed I had a TIA and said the word stroke, I just couldn’t believe it, there was a moment of sheer panic, just scared of what it meant for the rest of my life.

‘Can I have one more? Would the next one be even worse and would I lose use of my arms or legs? I was really scared and burst into tears.’

Chris was eventually transferred to the Royal London Hospital where he underwent further tests over a period of five days before being released into the care of his concerned family.

He added: ‘The doctors said they saw some damage on the left side of my brain, where your cognitive abilities are controlled.

“What’s scary is that if I hadn’t called 111 when I did and got to the hospital so quickly that I don’t know if that clot could have traveled to the wrong place in my brain, I could have died. That clot was like a ticking bomb in my head.’

Doctors have since discovered that the clot was caused by a small, previously unnoticed hole in his heart that allowed blood to flow into his brain — meaning he’ll need surgery to close it.

The actor is now working with a speech therapist and says his ability to speak has almost fully returned, but he still struggles when he has to read aloud.

But he insists that he will use the experience positively and now plans to “live life to the fullest.”

He said, “When you go through something like that, you realize how fragile life is, it could be taken away from you at any moment.”

In May, Chris spoke about the depression he suffered after being fired from Coronation Street when a video of him using misogyny while rapping about women was posted online.

The actor was filmed rapping about rape in the clip, which he said has “gloomy” career prospects to this day.

Chris discussed his issues with fellow Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas and his brothers Adam and Scott on their Mancs On The Mic podcast.

He said: ‘I’ve been to some very dark, horrible places, to the point where I realized I had to start changing the way I thought — otherwise I might not have been here.

My life, my job, my image, my reputation – everything just got ripped away. Within 24 hours. I didn’t leave my house for four days.’

He added: ‘I had never been so confused. I was supposed to continue this morning and then that was canceled because they didn’t want me there. After a while I thought, “I think I’m going through a depression here.”‘

After leaving Coronation Street, Chris appeared on the 2018 show Girlfriends and also starred in regional plays, but says his job prospects are still influenced by the video.

He said, “As much as I like to say that everything is fine and everything is cool, work technically right now, it’s bleak.

“Isn’t that going to get me jobs?” [the scandal], or am I not getting jobs because I’m not as good an actor as I once thought I was? I don’t know if I’ll ever find that answer.’

If you have any questions about TIA or would like to speak to someone, please call the TIA Helpline on 0303 3033 100. If you have been touched by this story, you can always call Samaritans toll-free on 116 123.