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Chantelle Houghton was 'paralysed' by illness

Mar 19, 2013, 4:01 GMT

Chantelle Houghton

Chantelle Houghton woke up 'paralysed' on the day she was rushed to hospital.

The reality TV star revealed last week she had been unable to spend Mother's Day (10.03.13) with her nine-month-old daughter Dolly because she had been admitted to a medical facility amid fears she had suffered a stroke, and has now opened up about her terrifying ordeal.

Writing in her new! magazine column, she explained: 'I'd not been feeling well at all for a few days beforehand. On the Wednesday, I got a horrific pain in my head and a burning rash came up on my forehead. My tongue felt really fat and I couldn't talk properly. I was so dazed that I felt as though I lost a minute or two.

'I went to the doctor the next day and he said I had flu, but I started to feel even worse. My mum had to take Dolly for three days because I felt that bad. On the Friday night, I literally crawled out of bed to get some painkillers because the pain in my head was so bad. Then, on the Sunday morning, I woke up and was paralysed - I couldn't get out of bed. I called NHS Direct and they thought I'd had a stroke and told me to get to a hospital within the hour!

'I called my mum and we were both crying. I was so frightened.'

Thankfully, after undergoing tests, Chantelle was diagnosed with a case of flu and sent home to rest, and she is now feeling much better.

She added: 'My dad and brother took me to the hospital, where I had loads of tests and an ECG, and, thankfully, it was just the flu. I was there for five hours, so I didn't get to see Dolly on Mother's Day.

'I was gutted, but am so thankful it wasn't anything life-threatening. I'm feeling better now and Dolly's back at home with me.'