The actor and comedian, Jamie Foxx, has recently opened up about the medical emergency that he suffered in April 2023 whilst filming, which led to him being hospitalised and undergoing extensive rehabilitation thereafter. In his Netflix special, What Had Happened Was…, he explained that he suffered a stroke caused by a bleed on the brain.  

After developing a severe headache, he initially was taken to see a doctor who did not suspect any serious cause for the headache and gave him a painkilling injection and sent him home. His sister fortunately suspected that something was seriously wrong and rushed him to a hospital. He was then diagnosed as having suffered a bleed on the brain and he underwent life saving emergency surgery to treat this. 

The medical term for such a bleed on the brain as Jamie suffered is a subarachnoid haemorrhage or SAH. The main symptoms of an SAH are: 

• a sudden severe headache unlike anything you’ve experienced before – it is often referred to as a thunderclap headache, such is the intensity of it 

• a stiff neck 

• feeling and being sick 

• sensitivity to light (photophobia) 

• blurred or double vision 

• stroke-like symptoms – such as slurred speech and weakness on one side of the body 

• loss of consciousness or convulsions (uncontrollable shaking) 

It is a medical emergency, meaning that 999 should be called immediately if you develop these symptoms and it is something that medical practitioners should be alert to the symptoms of, unlike what was experienced by Jamie when he saw the first doctor.  

People who have suffered an SAH need specialist treatment from a neuroscience unit, whereby they will initially be given medication, which usually includes Nimodipine (which is to reduce the chance of secondary cerebral ischaemia, when the blood supply to the brain becomes dangerously reduced and damage is caused to the brain) as well as pain relief and they will then undergo emergency surgery to repair the source of the bleeding.  

It is not clear which surgery Jamie underwent; there are two main techniques for surgically treating a bleed on the brain, these being coiling and clipping. Which one is most suitable will depend upon your health, the size of the bleed and where the bleed is in the brain.  

Subarachnoid haemorrhages can be suffered by anyone of any age but, like with Jamie, they are slightly more common in people aged between 45 and 70. It is not known exactly what causes the bleed on the brain but there are certain risk factors for such bleeds on the brain, including: 

• smoking 

• high blood pressure 

• excessive alcohol consumption 

SAH is also more common in black people compared to other ethnic groups.  

Following the surgery, Jamie was in a coma for a number of days and on waking, he suffered memory loss and was unable to walk. Since then, he spent the following year, focussing on his health and rehabilitation, receiving support from nurses, physiotherapists and a psychiatrist. Jamie has talked in detail about how frustrating the rehabilitation process was, essentially needing to say goodbye to the old Jamie and accept the new Jamie. 

Jamie has been very fortunate to have made an excellent recovery but it could have easily been a very different outcome, had he not received treatment when he did. Indeed, it appears that the doctors treating Jamie indicated that if he had not had the surgery when he did, he would have died. 

People who have suffered a bleed on the brain are at risk of serious short term complications and having treatment as soon as possible helps to reduce the chance of these complications. They include rebleed at the site of the initial bleed, vasospasm (which is when blood vessels go into a spasm, causing the vessel to narrow and reduce the supply of blood flowing through) and hydrocephalus (build up of fluid on the brain, increasing pressure), all of which can result in damage to the brain.   

There are also other long term complications that can arise such as developing epilepsy, cognitive dysfunction (when a person experiences difficulties with their brain function, such as with memory or concentration) and emotional problems such as depression, anxiety or PTSD. Again, urgent treatment gives a person the best chance of making the best possible recovery, although, even with timely treatment, they may still suffer ongoing difficulties.  

If you or a loved one have suffered a bleed on the brain and you feel that there was a delay in diagnosis or issues with the treatment, our medical negligence team has substantial experience of dealing with cases involving subarachnoid haemorrhage and have obtained substantial compensation payments to help those who have been injured. Please contact our team on 01482 323697 to discuss how we may be able to help.