Kerry Katona has issued a new health update after suffering a suspected stroke, explaining it has left her looking and talking differently.
The Atomic Kitten star, 45, admitted she has ‘never been so scared’ as she revealed the terrifying health scare earlier this month.
She was left fearing for her life after realising she couldn’t smile properly while watching her eldest daughter Molly, 24, in a London play.
Kerry recalled how her daughter Heidi, 19, also noticed that something was wrong with her face, causing her to rush to hospital where they immediately began treating it as a stroke.
While it was later ruled out as a stroke and revealed to be the result of stress, the mother-of-five said she’s still dealing with the aftereffects.
Writing in her New column, she said: ‘I know I’m talking differently and I know my face looks different after my suspected stroke, but it’s actually loads better. It comes and goes.’
Kerry Katona has issued a new health update after suffering a suspected stroke, explaining it has left her looking and talking differently
The Atomic Kitten star, 45, admitted she has ‘never been so scared’ as she revealed the terrifying health scare earlier this month
However, Kerry admitted that the experience had revived her health anxiety, with her struggling not to ‘truly panic’ when reading comments.
‘I’ve just got to try and not think about it, because I’m the worst hypochondriac in the world,’ she said. ‘It’s awful for my family, I think they’re all fed up and sick of me at this point.
‘I have severe health anxiety, so when I start reading all the comments and I start learning all these new things that could be wrong, it makes me truly panic.’
Speaking for the first time about the scary incident to The Mirror, Kerry explained how she had messaged all of her children – Molly, Lilly, 23, Heidi, Max, 18, and Dylan-Jorge, 12 – fearing she may never be able to speak to them again.
She said: ‘It really, really scared me. I texted all my children and told them I loved them. I’ve never been so scared in my life.’
A stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is cut off (ischemic) or a blood vessel bursts (hemorrhagic), depriving brain cells of oxygen and causing them to die.
It requires immediate emergency medical attention to prevent permanent damage or death.
Recalling what happened, Kerry said she had been feeling unwell all day before Heidi realised something was wrong midway through the show, and rushed to see a doctor.
However, upon learning a doctor wouldn’t be able to see her for four hours, the singer took a taxi to St Thomas’ Hospital.
She was left fearing for her life after her daughter Heidi, 19, noticed she couldn’t smile properly while they were watching her eldest daughter Molly, 24, in a London play (seen with Heidi)
She said: ‘I got there, and they said, “We’re treating this as a stroke,” so they blue-lit me in an ambulance from St Thomas’ to King’s College Hospital. They were shining lights in my eyes while my face and speech were getting worse.
‘An hour ago I was watching our Molly in a play and now I’m being treated for a stroke. What the actual f**k? It just shows how quickly things can change.’
Kerry had to undergo tests and CT scans to try and find out why her speech had become slurred and her facial muscles had stopped working properly.
Doctors ruled out a stroke, but she said the scans showed ‘there’s a part of my brain that’s broken and isn’t able to send signals to my face due to stress.’
As well as her speech sounding different, the TV personality said she also gets shooting pains in her head.
While doctors have assured her that her movement and speech will come back with the help of speech therapy and facial exercises, Kerry confessed she’s ‘getting a bit panicky with it’.
