Afrobeats singer Adekunle Gold has recalled suffering a severe sickle cell crisis during a flight to Tanzania, leaving him unable to walk and requiring a wheelchair when he arrived in Ethiopia.
The singer, whose real name is Adekunle Kosoko, shared the experience during an interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra while discussing his life with sickle cell disease.
Adekunle Gold said the episode began with intense stomach pain while he was travelling to Tanzania, with a scheduled stopover in Ethiopia.
He initially thought the pain was related to something he had eaten at the airport.
“I was going to Tanzania. And I was supposed to lay over in Ethiopia. I just noticed that I started feeling pain in my stomach. I was cramping. I thought it was maybe some meal that I had at the airport,” he said.
However, the pain continued to intensify despite his attempts to relieve it.
“I was beating myself up about that, but it kept going. I went to the toilet, nothing came out. They almost landed the plane because of me, because it was really bad,” he added.
By the time the aircraft reached Ethiopia, the singer said the pain had become so severe that he was unable to walk.
“Thankfully, we were closer to landing in Ethiopia. I could not even walk. For the first time in my life, they had to put me in a wheelchair, and they took me to the hospital. And the doctor told me that I had a crisis,” he said.
Adekunle Gold said he was surprised by the diagnosis because his previous sickle cell crises had manifested as stomach pain.
“The only crisis I have known in my life is in my stomach. That was the first time I ever heard about that,” he said.
According to the singer, doctors subsequently advised him to increase his water intake while travelling by air after noting that his oxygen level was low.
“The doctor now told me that when I am on the plane, I should make sure I drink a lot of water. And that my oxygen level was low because I did not drink a lot of water that day,” he said.
Reflecting on the demands of managing sickle cell disease while maintaining a busy international schedule, Adekunle Gold said frequent air travel posed particular challenges.
“I feel like I live on the plane, I’m on the plane 24/7 and if you know anyone living with sickle cell, you will know it is about oxygen, oxygen level and when you are up there, it is crazy,” he added.
