I almost ended it all after learning I had stunted growth – Chinedu ”Aki” Ikedieze

Seasoned Nigerian actor, Chinedu Ikedieze, also called Aki, has opened up about how he considered taking his life because of his stunted growth.

The comic act, in a recent interview with popular media personality, Chude Jideonwo, recalled the challenges he faced while growing up due to the diagnosis.

Ikedieze said he became disturbed after he heard the doctor inform his mum of his condition and thought of ending his life due to the bullying from other children because he wasn’t growing normally.

The 45-year-old Nollywood star said he was grateful to his mother for standing by him through those hard times.

He said; “Something happened when I was nine years and six months old. I remember the doctor saying to my mum; ‘Madam, what he has is stunted growth.’

“That was when I started hearing the words, stunted and retarded growth. I cried several times because I was bullied in school and even at home because I wasn’t growing properly. It got bad, there were times I thought of ending it all. Thank God I no grow for Lagos because Third Mainland Bridge no far o [laughs].”

Meanwhile in similar news…

Former Big Brother Naija ‘All Stars’ housemate, Uriel Oputa has recounted her struggle with amenorrhea that lasted for four years.

The 35-year-old fitness enthusiast said doctors in the United Kingdom told her that she may never be able to have a child, and the health challenge was “the lowest point” of her life.

Amenorrhea is the medical term for the absence of menstruation during the reproductive years, between puberty and menopause.

Uriel, who was speaking with media personality Hero Daniels, revealed that she battled with depression as a result of the diagnosis and she had a problem watching kids on TV.

She said: “Before I decided to embark on a health journey, I had health challenges. One of them was that I didn’t see my period for four years. And I remember going to the doctors in the UK, and they told me that there was a high possibility that I would never be able to have children. That time, my niece was two years old and I remember leaving the office thinking, ‘Oh! I will never be able to have a child.’

“I went into a state of depression. I was so depressed that I couldn’t watch kids on TV. I hated going past schools or parks because I would be reminded constantly that I may not be able to be a mother. So, it reached a point where I said, ‘Okay, if I can’t be a mother, I would have my niece as mine.’ And that is why, till today, we [my niece and I] are very close because she looks at me as a second mother.”