Sharon Stone has opened up about the terrifying stroke she suffered at the age of 43, revealing she had to learn to talk, walk and write again following the ordeal. The actress said the health scare, which she experienced in 2001, changed her life "forever".
Discussing her favourite television shows with the Radio Times, Sharon said a documentary called My Beautiful Broken Brain struck a chord due to her own experience and she could relate to the story. "In 2001, I had a stroke and a nine-day brain haemorrhage that changed my life forever," she said. "I had a five per cent chance of surviving."
Sharon Stone suffered a stroke at the age of 43
The 59-year-old said she lost almost all function in her left side, and it took years to learn basic skills again. "When I came home after the stroke, I could barely walk. My hip was unstable. I couldn't see out of my left eye and I couldn't hear out of my left ear," Sharon explained. "I couldn't write my name for almost three years. I couldn't get my arm to listen to my mind, so I had to learn to read and write again. I had to learn to speak again. It took years for the feeling to come back to my left leg, but it finally came back."
STORY: How to recognise the signs of a stroke
The average age of people in England who have a stroke for the first time has fallen, new figures released at the beginning of February show. Public Health England data shows that the average age dropped from 71 to 68 for men, and from 75 to 73 for women between 2007 and 2016. Over the same period, the proportion of first-time strokes suffered by 40 to 69-year-olds rose from 33 per cent to 38 per cent. PHE has urged people to be more aware of the symptoms of a stroke and said the data shows they don't just affect the elderly – as Sharon's story proves.
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