‘I Have Been Battling With Kidney Disease For 12 Years’ -Ufuoma McDermott’s Journey To Healing And Hope Will Inspire You
Actress and filmmaker, Ufuoma McDermott opens up about her life-changing journey with Stage 4 kidney disease, sharing her inspiring story of survival and resilience that she kept private until now.
Sharing her struggles with kidney disease for 12 years, on this episode of #WithChude, the mother of two revealed that she also lost one of her siblings to chronic kidney disease.
After losing her younger brother to the chronic disease, Ufuoma faced her own diagnosis —Stage 3 kidney disease— last year after years of quietly dealing with the condition.
Ufuoma said her doctors told her to slow down at work and rest more because of her health, but she thought she had more time and negotiated with them.
However, despite the warnings of her doctors, she stressed her body and soon learned she had progressed to Stage 4, the final stage. Ufuoma said she had thought about dying because of what happened to her brother.
Reflecting on this challenging period, Ufuoma told Chude Jideonwo, she cannot afford to add weight due to her health condition.
“For six months, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t gain any weight. I truly thought it was the end.”
She revealed that her condition worsened due to the prolonged use of painkillers.
Now on the road to recovery, Ufuoma has embraced a fresh outlook on life and a stronger commitment to self-care.
She also shared for the first time how she balances her work in Nigeria with family life abroad, appreciating the privacy it has brought her.
The host captioned the video of the interview:
“First, she lost her older brother to chronic kidney disease.
Then last year, Ufuoma McDermott was also diagnosed of Stage 3 kidney disease – after battling with it for 12 years.
She was told to slow down at work and rest. But she thought she had more time and negotiated with her doctors.
That delay turned out to be costly.
She was shortly diagnosed of Stage 4 kidney disease.
Stage 4.
That’s the final stage.
And she says it was a result of drug abuse – ingesting too many painkillers.
Thus began a battle for her life, where there was zero room for error. For 6 months, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t work. She couldn’t add weight. She actually thought the end had come.
In this exclusive interview, the actor and producer shares how she found her way back from Stage 4 kidney disease, how it changed how she lived her life, how she managed her public career while dealing with this in private, and why this life-changing experience has transformed the way she lives her life today.
Also for the first time, she confirms that over the past few years she has lived with her family abroad while acting and producing in Nigeria – and how a very private life has served her very well.
This was one hell of a conversation.
