Emilia Clarke praises nurses who helped her recover from brain aneurysm as ‘unsung heroes’

'They’re at people’s most frightening moments'

Emilia Clarke has praised the nurses and paramedics who took care of her after she suffered from two brain aneurysms as "unsung heroes".

Earlier this year the Game of Thrones actor, who plays Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO show, revealed she had to undergo life-saving surgery after suffering two brain aneurysms in 2011 and 2013.

Speaking to People magazine for its first-ever “kindness” issue, the 33-year-old spoke about the people who helped her through the health scare, which left her unable to remember her own name.

“It was a brain aneurysm that ruptured, and it was pretty traumatic,” Clarke said.

“The paramedics were unbelievable. They’d given me drugs so I was in less pain, wrapped me up like a tortilla, and made me laugh the whole way to the hospital.

“There I was, bleeding in the brain, and there we were in this ambulance having an absolute giggle. They were so gracious.”

The Last Christmas star also shared how important the nurses were throughout the experience, revealing that they were part of the reason she decided to become an ambassador for the Royal College of Nursing in 2018.

“Every single nurse I came across was so kind,” Clarke explained.

"Nurses are the unsung heroes; they’re at people’s most frightening moments."

In addition to the devoted nurses, Clarke also praised her mother for always being by her side.

"I feel endless gratitude—to my mum and brother, to my doctors and nurses, to my friends.

“[My mum] went into mum superpower in the hospital. I had aphasia [loss of speech], and she looked at me and went, ‘Yeah, I know exactly what you mean'," Clarke said.

“She made me believe she understood exactly what I was saying. It was genuinely her greatest moment.”

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

Clarke first opened up about her brain aneurysms in an essay for The New Yorker in March this year.

“In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug. I asked the medical staff to let me die,” she wrote, later adding, “In the years since my second surgery, I have healed beyond my most unreasonable hopes. I am now at 100%."

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

Clarke has set up a charity in the UK and US called SameYou, which aims to provide treatment for people recovering from brain injuries and stroke.

She said she hopes the charity, which is aimed at supporting young people with brain injuries, will help others who are suffering from the “invisible illness”.