A Gogglebox star has shared her harrowing ordeal after experiencing sight loss and extreme forgetfulness, which turned out to be an undetected, irreversible brain bleed.

Elaine Cooper’s life flashed before her eyes when she suddenly lost total vision while driving.

She had been experiencing frequent bouts of forgetfulness, though she put this down to tiredness and simply getting older.

The former Channel 4 star, 56, tried to carry on as normal, but then her life was on the line.

It turns out she had a bleed on her brain from a hemorrhagic stroke that had been there for 10 weeks. And sadly, there’s no treatment or cure.

‘I struggled to make sense of the world around me,’ the medically retired music teacher, from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, told NeedToKnow.

A Gogglebox star has shared her harrowing ordeal after experiencing sight loss and extreme forgetfulness, which turned out to be an undetected, irreversible brain bleed

Elaine Cooper’s life flashed before her eyes when she suddenly lost total vision while drivin

Elaine said: ‘I was completely shocked and heartbroken. They told me part of my brain had been irreversibly damaged.

‘And as there wasn’t anything they could do, this was just who I was now. At first, it was difficult and I didn’t feel like myself.

‘But I knew I had to keep going and try to make the best of a bad situation.’

Elaine says when her vision returned, everything was blurry.

She had managed to get home, but then a ‘pounding’ headache took hold. Alarm bells didn’t go off, though, until she began forgetting her friends’ names.

She said, ‘I had arranged to meet some friends for lunch. As one of my pals walked into the café, I stared at her.

‘I couldn’t think where I knew her from. Then it dawned on me, I had forgotten who she was. I had forgotten how to fill up the car a few days before that.

‘A man had to come over and help. I looked so stupid when he easily lifted off the cap.’

She continued: ‘It was terrifying not remembering how to do the simplest of tasks – I truly thought I was losing my mind.’

The former Channel 4 star, 56, tried to carry on as normal, but then her life was on the line

It turns out she had a bleed on her brain from a hemorrhagic stroke that had been there for 10 weeks. And sadly, there’s no treatment or cure

Elaine, who appeared on seasons 22 and 23 of the Channel 4 show, had her diagnosis confirmed in April 2024 following a CT scan and an MRI

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Elaine, who appeared on seasons 22 and 23 of the Channel 4 show, had her diagnosis confirmed in April 2024 following a CT scan and an MRI.

Since then, the effects of the stroke have worsened and she’s had to give up driving, her job, and doesn’t often leave home.

Elaine added, ‘I suffer from extreme fatigue that makes me just so tired. I’ve also developed double vision and paralysis on my left side.

‘It’s had such a huge impact on my life. I’ve had to accept that I must use a wheelchair for anything other than moving very short distances.

‘But over time, I’ve learned coping strategies to help with my problems. And I’ve been able to attend a few gigs again, too!

‘I have regular MRIS and go weekly to a rehabilitation day centre, which has been a real turning point for me.

‘If I hadn’t been offered a place there, I genuinely don’t know what my wellbeing would be like today.’

She added: ‘I live in a rural area, which made me isolated, and the whole aspect of that was very daunting.

‘I hate relying on people for the simplest of things, but acceptance is the biggest barrier. It’s still scary, but slowly and surely, I’m getting back to some version of the old me.’

WHAT IS A HAEMORRHAGIC STROKE?

Haemorrhagic stroke is when you have bleeding in or around the brain. 

This can damage brain cells. Damage to brain cells can affect how the body works. It can also change how you think, communicate and feel.

Stroke is a medical emergency and you should always call 999 if you have any stroke symptoms.

If you have a haemorrhagic stroke, you may experience any of the signs of stroke in the FAST test.

Many (but not all) people who have a haemorrhagic stroke experience a headache. 

A sudden, severe headache is very likely with a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) but can also happen with an intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). 

You may sometimes hear this sudden, severe headache called a ‘thunderclap headache’. 

People describe a thunderclap headache as the worst pain they have ever had, and like being hit on the head. If you have a thunderclap headache, even if it goes away by itself or with painkillers, you should call 999.

Other common symptoms of SAH include a stiff neck, nausea and vomiting.

In stroke due to ICH, the symptoms depend on where the bleed happens in the brain, but can include weakness, numbness, visual loss or difficulty with speech, and you can have any of the signs of stroke in the FAST test.

Source: Stroke ᴀssociation