Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke shares previously unseen photos from brain surgeries

‘In that moment I knew I was being brain damaged’

Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has shared previously unseen photographs taken in hospital after suffering from brain injury.

Last month, Clarke, who portrays protagonist Daenerys Targaryen on the hit HBO television show, revealed in an essay written for The New Yorker that she suffered two brain aneurysms which required surgery.

The 32-year-old explained that the first brain aneurysm had occurred in February 2011, shortly after filming for the first season of the show had finished.

This week, Clarke spoke in detail about her health scare on CBS Sunday Morning, and shared pictures that were taken while she was receiving care in hospital.

In one of the photographs, the actor is lying in a hospital bed holding her phone, with the red dragon sigil for House Targaryen visible on the back of her phone case.

Emilia Clarke shares unseen photos from hospital after suffering brain aneurysms (CBS Sunday Morning/YouTube)

In another picture, the star is looking at the camera with a medical tube attached to her head.

Clarke first realised that she was experiencing some sort of brain injury while at the gym, when she started to feel "excruciating pain" in her head, she told the American talk show.

The Me Before You actor likened the pain to "an elastic band [that] just went like snap".

Emilia Clarke wrote about suffering brain aneurysms for an article in The New Yorker (CBS Sunday Morning/YouTube)

Clarke said she suddenly felt an "enormous amount of pressure", before quickly realising that she was unable to stand or walk.

"And in that moment I knew I was being brain damaged," the Emmy Award nominee added.

When Clarke was rushed to hospital following the first brain aneurysm, she was informed she had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage.​

A subarachnoid haemorrhage is an uncommon form of stroke caused by bleeding on the brain, the NHS states.

Emilia Clarke described the pain like 'an elastic band just went like snap' (CBS Sunday Morning/YouTube)

Following the publication of her essay in The New Yorker, Clarke launched a charity called SameYou.

The aim of the charity is to provide support for young adults who have suffered from brain injury and stroke.

Clarke said she plans on putting her "heart, soul and back" into improving aftercare for those recovering from brain injury.

The actor added that she also wants to raise awareness for the "invisible disease that is brain injury".

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