EastEnders icon Cheryl Fergison, who played Heather Trott in the BBC soap, has opened up about her health after suffering from a severe stroke earlier this year
Cheryl Fergison, the beloved EastEnders star known for her role as Heather Trott, has shared a health update following a severe stroke in May. The 60 year old actress took to Instagram to share her progress, revealing she can now walk a ‘certain amount before’ becoming ‘puffed out’, and shared a heartwarming story about a chance encounter at her local shop.
Cheryl shared: “Well I just had to come on and tell you something that has planted a seed in my little brain. And hopefully it plants the seed in somebody in our industry – producers, tv people etc. So the story goes this, I can walk with a stick now from the stroke which is brilliant, I can walk a certain amount before I get puffed out.”
She continued, explaining that she visited her local Premier shop for some exercise when she bumped into a woman who confessed she’d read her book, reports the Mirror.
Cheryl recounted: “This lady was in there. Probably about my age, I dunno, maybe 50’s to 60’s, something like that. Anyways, she said Oh My Gosh I’ve just read your book. And I went ‘oh have you? How did you find it?’ She said you’ve had a life haven’t you? And I said yeah a little bit.”
The soap legend then revealed how the woman suggested she should turn her life story into a series or a film, to which Cheryl responded: “Let’s make this happen, it would be absolutely fantastic. Anyway, it was just a thought from a lovely lady in my local shop”.
This follows her stroke earlier this year, which was preceded by a severe headache.
In an chat with the Mirror last month, ahead of her explosive new memoir, Behind The Scenes, the mum-of-one detailed the terrifying moment she realised something was amiss while at home watching telly.
She recalled: “I started to feel funny, with a really bad headache at the back of my head. I went to bed but couldn’t settle. When I got up in the night to go to the bathroom, my balance completely went and I had to stop myself from falling over. My whole right side felt numb, heavy and tingly.”
Alarmed, Cheryl immediately contacted her son Alex. “He worked with elderly people and recognised the symptoms. He phoned an ambulance straight away.”
Cheryl, who underwent surgery for womb cancer in 2015, was swiftly taken to a Blackpool hospital where doctors confirmed she had suffered a stroke. The illness left her unable to walk independently, and she continues to rely on a walking stick.
“I have had to retrain my brain. I couldn’t even pick up a penny at first,” Cheryl shared.
“You lose the ability to coordinate your hands, to walk properly, your balance is gone. It’s frustrating and makes you angry. But I’ve started to recover; I am coming on in leaps and bounds now.”
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