Gogglebox star Shaun Malone has shared graphic images of painful-looking scars and staples on his head following brain surgery. The 31-year-old, who first appeared on the Channel 4 programme in 2014 alongside his family, has been open about his long-term health struggles after being diagnosed with a brain condition in 2010.
Shaun's Health Battle and Recent Surgery
In 2010, an infection from sinusitis spread to Shaun's brain, causing a stroke. He spent weeks in a coma and was left with brain damage, requiring him to relearn how to walk and talk. His parents were told he had only a 10% chance of survival. Earlier today, Shaun took to Instagram to provide an update on his condition, revealing he had undergone another brain procedure. He wrote: "Heatwave is a terrible time to be stuck in hospital until Friday. Brain surgery is deffo not the highlight of my year." The photo showed a row of staples closing a surgical incision on his scalp.
Recalling the 2010 Ordeal
Shaun previously discussed his illness on the Coaching From The Sofa podcast. He recalled: "In 2010 I got sinusitis and in some way, the infection found its way back to my brain. My brain started swelling and my skull started crushing it so my mum took me to A&E saying, 'Look he's poorly!' and they said it was sinusitis. And then I collapsed one day at home and I ended up going into a coma and they said to my mum and dad that I had a less than 10 per cent chance of living." He added: "I was in a coma for a few weeks – and they said to my mum and dad, 'Shaun's got brain damage, we don't know what the brain damage is or how it'll affect him or if it's going to be really bad.' And when I woke up my brain damage affected me in some ways, like my memory but mostly the way it affected me was with my left side. I essentially had a stroke, I couldn't move my left arm, my left leg, even the left side of my face."
Family's Heartbreak and Support
Shaun's family, including his dad Tom, mum Julie, and siblings Tom Jr and Vanessa, have been a pillar of support. Julie told the Mirror last year: "We were absolutely frantic. The doctor said Shaun only had a slim chance of surviving surgery, that there were no beds available. Tom said I just went doolally saying, 'He's going to be fine, he's going to be fine'. Thankfully Tom was level-headed and really pushed them. When a bed was finally found Shaun spent six hours in surgery to remove a piece of bone from his skull because of the swelling. He was in a coma for two weeks and when he came around had to learn to walk all over again."
