Adekunle Gold Recounts Sickle Cell Crisis On Flight To Tanzania

Popular Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold has recounted a frightening health scare he experienced on a flight to Tanzania while battling a sickle cell crisis.

Speaking in a recent interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra, he described the incident, which occurred during a trip that was meant to include a layover in Ethiopia.

The husband of singer Simi, explained that he started feeling severe stomach pain and cramping while on board. According to him, he thought it was caused by something he ate at the airport, but the discomfort persisted and intensified, leaving him unable to pass anything despite several attempts to use the restroom.

He revealed that the situation became so severe that the plane nearly had to land because of him.

Adekunle Gold, however, noted that fortunately for him, they were close to their destination in Ethiopia, where he had to be taken off the aircraft in a wheelchair for the first time in his life, and rushed to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a crisis.

The singer noted that the doctor advised him to drink plenty of water whenever he travels by air, revealing that his oxygen level was low because he had not drunk enough water that day.

He also reflected on the reality of living with sickle cell, noting that he spends a lot of time on planes and that the condition is heavily tied to oxygen levels, which become more difficult to manage at high altitudes.

He said:
"The last major crisis that I had. This is not the one I talked about when I was 20. The last major crisis I had happened on a plane. 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. I was like, 'I shouldn't have eaten that.' 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."

"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."

"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."

"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."