In a candid conversation with Chude Jideonwo on November 7, 2024, the renowned actress narrated how she became affected with kidney disease due to self-medicating, to cure a chronic migraine.
“My kidney disease started from drug abuse because I was swamped with what we call the hustle. I had a migraine but I didn’t take ordinary painkillers. I took strong painkillers so that the migraine could go fast but I didn’t know it would affect me so badly.
“At a point, I had painkillers in my wallet, even when I was in secondary school, when my mom would buy me provisions she would buy me painkillers,” she narrated.
Ufuoma McDermott added how the disease has motivated her to have a good impact on the lives of others.
“I started thinking, if the doctor said I have three months to live, what impact would I have had on the lives of others? So when I started making my short films, I said it was all going to be about impact,” she added.
Background
Kidney failure has been a major chronic disease affecting both the young and old in the world.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Opoku Ware, in an interview in 2023, about 5 million Ghanaians are suffering from kidney problems.
He also stated that while the average number of people living with kidney disease on the African continent is about 15%, 17 percent of the country’s population has kidney problems.
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