Shaun Malone has undergone brain surgery as the Gogglebox favourite shared a candid update from hospital.
Shaun, 31, posted a photo that showed staples across his scalp. He told fans the current UK heatwave has made recovery even tougher.
Shaun Malone shares photo from hospital after brain surgery
As originally reported by Daily Star, he wrote on Instagram: “Heatwave is a terrible time to be stuck in hospital until Friday.”
He added: “Brain surgery is deffo not the highlight of my year.” [Sic]
Shaun found fame on Channel 4’s Gogglebox with the Malone family in 2014. Viewers know him alongside dad Tom, mum Julie and his siblings.
He has also spoken openly about serious health problems away from the sofa. That history gives this latest update extra weight.
Shaun Malone’s health crisis happened before his TV fame. After becoming seriously ill in 2010, he underwent emergency brain surgery and later faced a long recovery.
- He spent six hours in surgery after his condition worsened.
- He was in a coma for two weeks.
- He later had to learn to walk again.
- Shaun has since spoken about rebuilding his confidence and helping young people through football coaching.
Why this update hits so hard
Daily Star reported that Shaun has discussed his condition before. He said doctors diagnosed him with a brain condition in 2010 after he first developed sinusitis.
On the Coaching From The Sofa podcast, Shaun explained how the infection spread. He said it reached his brain and caused swelling.
Heatwave is a terrible time to be stuck in hospital until Friday.
He said: “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.”
His condition then turned critical. Shaun said: “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 continued: “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.’”
The scar photo also points back to a much longer battle
Shaun also described the long-term impact of that medical emergency. He said: “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.”
According to reports, Shaun spent much of his teenage years in and out of hospital after the life-threatening infection.
His mum Julie later described the ordeal in comments reported by the Mirror. She said: “We were absolutely frantic.”
The Malone family are among the best-known households on Channel 4’s Gogglebox. Viewers know them for their long-running appearances on the sofa, with parents Tom and Julie Malone featuring alongside their children over the years.
- Tom Malone Sr and Julie Malone are the family members most regularly seen on the programme.
- Shaun Malone is part of the wider Malone family known to viewers.
- The family became popular for their humour and candid reactions to television.
Julie added: “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.”
She went on: “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.”
