By Nigerian singer, Adekunle Kosoko professionally known as Adekunle Gold has narrated the near-death experience he had because of sickle cell disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Persons with SCD suffer from constant shortage of red blood cells which carry oxygen to all parts of the body.
In a personalised email addressed to his fans on Friday, the “High” crooner recounted his struggles with the life-threatening ailment which robbed him of his childhood.
“I lived with a sickness no one around me understood, I lived with restrictions all my childhood. I wasn’t able to join some of the most minor child play and liberating activities like going out in the rain,” he wrote.
“The times when I insisted and rebelled against my parents orders and went out in the rain, I would end up having a crisis. The nights were painful and lonely, nights that no one could help me get through. It was just me, God and my mind. The pains and shivers were unbearable.”
Adekunle Gold revealed how his mother did everything possible to save his life, including taking him to “all the churches she could find” in search for spiritual intervention to his condition.
The 35-year-old singer said he nearly lost his life at the age of 20 when he suffered a crisis — one of the most distressing symptoms of sickle cell.
He recalled, “I remember laying in my bed in the middle of the night asking for an end to it all. I begged God to take my life away because I couldn’t understand what I did to deserve the pain my body and mind was under.
“As usual with sickle crisis after some days, the pain subsided and God asked me; “That end you begged me for, do you still want it?” Of course I said no and that’s when everything changed for me. That’s when I realised that I had been given another opportunity to live my dreams and to show those that mocked me that sickle cell anemia was never going to end me, that it was never going to hold me back from my dreams and aspirations.”
He admonished fans to be kind and show compassion to anyone going through any kind of struggle, urging sickle cell carriers to stay motivated despite their ailment.
“In fact be kind to everyone, you just never know what they’re dealing with privately. Be supportive, be gentle and love endlessly.
“If you are a sickler, know that the disease does not define you. Don’t allow it to limit your dreams or cap your potential. Spread your wings and dream big! Hope to see you soaring the big skies,” the singer added.
