Nollywood actress Ufuoma McDermott recently opened up about her harrowing 12-year battle with chronic kidney disease, revealing a heart-wrenching journey of loss, diagnosis, and resilience.
In an emotional interview with Chude Jideonwo on “With Chude” shared on Instagram on Friday, Ufuoma shared how her younger brother’s passing due to kidney disease was followed by her own diagnosis with stage 3 kidney disease in 2023.
Despite doctor’s orders to rest, Ufuoma continued working, leading to a devastating progression to stage 4 kidney disease, the final stage.
Ufuoma confessed that her condition resulted from excessive painkiller use, which she described as “drug abuse.”
For six months, she was bedridden, unable to work or gain weight, and feared her life was ending.
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Captioning the video, Chude wrote, “First, she lost her younger brother to chronic kidney disease.
Then last year, Ufuoma McDermott was also diagnosed with 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.”
Watch her speak below…
