Loose Women: Gail Porter shows off her new wig
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The 51-year-old, who shot to fame in the 1990s before taking part in reality TV show Celebrity Blind Man’s Buff in 2001, first shared news of her accident back in November 2021, when she shared a picture of the graze on the back of her head on Instagram. Along with the picture she added the caption: “Sleeping is not too comfortable with a fractured skull!! Don’t have the hand book on comfy sore head sleeps! Hope you’re all sleeping well.” Immediately fans flocked to her aid, wondering what had happened to the star, and wishing her well.
Although not responding to every comment, Porter replied to a few concerned fans who asked what had happened, saying: “Little fit/faint!” while responding to another similar question she replied: “Seizure /fit.”
Porter again took to social media on April 7 2022, to express her delight that she was finally getting an MRI scan on her brain, six months after the initial incident occurred.
She tweeted: “Well.. slightly weird but I guess good news. A London doctor has arranged an MRI scan for me….6months after I fractured my skull. I’ll take that as a positive as I’m still here!” [sic]
Finally, the day of the medical procedure arrived for the star. In a separate tweet, she added: “Sooooo… got my MRI scan tomorrow. Excited and a bit nervous. Quiet day with the cat today, fingers crossed all is good.”
Explaining more about the incident in an interview in December last year, Porter revealed that she hit her head after falling backwards, leaving her with two bleeds on her brain and severe headaches that she suffered for months after the accident.
She said: “I’ve been told that when you fracture your skull, the headaches can continue for months, which is not the best.
“I don’t really know what happened and don’t remember any of it.
“I was working, it had been a very long day, it was very cold, I was heading for something to eat and just collapsed.”
If the head trauma wasn’t enough, the poor star experienced more difficulty as she attempted to go and get her mobile phone fixed.
She added: “When I fell and did my head in, I also managed to break my phone. When I was back in London, I went to drop my phone off at an Apple store but on the way these four guys pushed into me.
“I was so worried, I remember thinking, ‘Please don’t knock my head’.
“They started running and, when I got to the phone shop, I put my hands in my pocket and realised, ‘Where’s my phone?’”
Despite her brief period of unfortunate events, things seem to be looking up for the star, as she has further scans and medical treatment to treat the bleeds on her brain. Remaining positive, she added: “I’ve definitely not been having the best of times – but things could be so much worse.”
Skull fractures are essentially a break in the skull bone, and can either be mild or severe. While mild breaks can cause few problems and heal over time, severe breaks can lead to complications including bleeding, brain damage, leaking of cerebrospinal fluid, infection and seizures.
UC Health explains that there are four main types of skull fractures that vary in severity. These include:
- Linear skull fracture. This is a break in the bone, but the bone does not move out of place.
- Depressed skull fracture. Part of the skull bone is sunken in from the injury. In many cases, this needs treatment with surgery.
- Skull base fracture. This is a break in the bone at the bottom of the skull. It can be a serious type of skull fracture. You may have bruises around your eyes and a bruise behind your ear that appears one to three days later. You may also have cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) draining from your nose or ears. This is because of a tear in part of the covering of the brain. This type of break often needs surgery right away.
- Penetrating skull fracture. This is a break from something going through the bone, such as a bullet, blade, or blast fragments. This often causes severe injury and bleeding in the brain. It needs treatment right away with surgery.
After sustaining a skull fracture, individuals may experience a wide array of symptoms, that can include anything from confusion to a visible swelling on the head. Other symptoms to look out for include:
- Confusion.
- Dizziness.
- Poor memory.
- Feeling very tired.
- Headache.
- Bleeding from the head.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Loss of consciousness.
- Seizures.
If you or someone you know experiences any of the above symptoms, or are at risk of having a fractured skull, it is important to seek medical advice, who will typically suggest individuals have MRI scans or a CT scan to show the area of broken bone, identify injuries to the brain and create images of tissue in the body.
Blood tests and X-rays are also used to check for signs of infection or other problems following a fracture on the skull.
For those who are suffering from bleeding on the brain, also known as a brain haemorrhage will need treatment in order to stop this bleeding. This treatment often includes medication, but in some more severe cases, surgery may be needed.
It is vital that all head injuries are checked at hospital. Most individuals with a simple, straightforward fracture will make a full recovery. For those with more complicated fractures, recovery may take more time.
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