George Clooney Battles Brain Injury
Sunday Mirror, Nov 6, 2005
By Flavia Bertolini
| George Clooney has had his share of hanging round hospitals, but to be fair, he was pretending to be saintly paediatrician Doug Ross in ER at the time. However, recently, the grey-haired god has had a more serious brush with ill health. George famously had to grow an unsightly shaggy beard and put on 2st 10lb for his role as CIA agent Robert Barnes in the movie Syriana, which he made in Morocco at the end of last year. The movie opens in Britain in Jan 2006, and it was during filming of the political thriller that George had an accident which led him to fear for his life. During a torture scene in which two thugs beat him up, George was strapped to a chair when it was unintentionally kicked over and he fell backwards, hitting his head and tearing his dura the sac of fluid which surrounds the brain and spinal chord. The actor, 44, was so badly hurt, the brain fluid began leaking out of his nose. I was scared, I thought I was having a stroke, as my family has a history of strokes, George explains. After the incident, he was in terrible pain and went to see a doctor, but was sent away and told he just had a headache. It was like an ice- cream brain freeze 24 hours a day, but I understand what they were thinking, Oh, he is an actor, he is just being dramatic, George says. But over the following weeks, the pain intensified, so he got on a plane to see a specialist in LA, where he was diagnosed with a ruptured dura and had emergency surgery to stop the leak. George soldiered on and, though his condition worsened, he attended the premiere of Oceans Twelve in December despite being in so much pain he could barely walk. Just a few days after that, he underwent complicated surgery in which doctors pinned his spine back together with plastic bolts. George, who split from lover Lisa Snowdon earlier this year, says, It was the most unbearable pain I've ever been through... I basically bruised my brain. It was bouncing around in my head because its not supported by the spinal fluid. To make matters worse, George has been unable to use conventional pain relief. He explains, I dont take painkillers because weve had members of our family whove become very fond of them over the years. Instead, George opted for therapy that teaches him to ignore the pain. After having to wear a neck brace for a while, George is left to cope with the short-term memory loss caused by the accident. I have to work the memory muscle by counting everything, like how many times I pedal when I am on a bike. He also sticks Post-It notes everywhere to remind him whats going on. Its been a terrible year for George. His brother-in-law died of a heart attack at 45, his grandmother died in the summer, and his dog was killed by a rattlesnake. But the heart-throb has come through what hes called the worst year personally Ive ever had and is back at work, filming The Good German with Cate Blanchett. He also promises his fans he will make a full recovery, saying, Ill whip it... Its not permanent. Its a bruised brain. Its OK, its going to be fine. We hope so... |