Lena Headey posts touching Instagram response to Emilia Clarke's essay on health struggles

"She's kind and determined and funny and aware."
 By 
Sam Haysom
 on 
Lena Headey posts touching Instagram response to Emilia Clarke's essay on health struggles
Lena Headey has Instagrammed a response to her 'Game of Thrones' co-star's essay. Credit: Paula Lobo/ABC via Getty Images/Tony Barson/FilmMagic/mashable composite

Actor Emilia Clarke has published a very honest and moving essay about the health problems she faced while filming Game of Thrones.

After collapsing at the gym shortly after she'd finished making Season 1, Clarke was diagnosed with a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Per the NHS website, this is "an uncommon type of stroke caused by bleeding on the surface of the brain." It's described as a very serious condition that can be fatal.

"I’d had an aneurysm, an arterial rupture," Clarke wrote, before going on to describe the life-threatening severity of her diagnosis and the long road to recovery. You can read her essay in full in The New Yorker.

Clarke's story has led to an outpouring of support and praise from fans. And on Friday morning, Clarke's Game of Thrones co-star Lena Headey added her voice to the mix.

"Not until she spoke to me about her experience did I fully realize the warrior she truly is," wrote Headey.

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Sam Haysom

Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time.

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