Sickle cell: I begged God to take my life at 20, Adekunle Gold

Adekunle Gold, a Nigerian artist, has disclosed that amid a severe crisis when he was 20 years old, he pleaded with God to terminate his life.

The father of one reflects on his childhood battle with sickle cell anemia and his determination to conquer it in a letter to his followers published on Friday, July 15.

I was born with sickle cell illness, the man wrote. I experienced everything; it was a matter of life and death; it was physical, psychological, economical, you name it.

"It was tough, painful and frustrating for me. The pains and shivers were unbearable. They (crisis) always came in the night, when my family had no means to transport me to a hospital."

Adekunle Gold also stated that at some point his family couldn’t afford the hospital bills so he had to endure the pain.

"The most intense crisis I had was at the age of 20, 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 because I could not 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 was when I realised that I had been given another opportunity to live my dreams and show those that mocked me that sickle cell anaemia was never going to end me, that it would never hold me back from my dreams and aspirations."

He added that although some symptoms resurface once in a while, the disease gave him hope and taught him to be resilient.