Veteran Nollywood actor, Chinedu Ikedieze, aka Aki, has opened up about the challenges he faced while growing up due to his being diagnosed with stunted growth.
The actor said he became disturbed after he heard the doctor announce his condition to his mother and thought of ending his life due to the bullying from other children because he wasn’t growing normally.
He disclosed this in a recent interview with popular media personality, Chude Jideonwo.
According to Ikedieze: “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].”
He said he was grateful to his mum for standing by him through those hard times.
Ikedieze added that from the first time he met Osita Iheme, aka Pawpaw, “there was this chemistry there.”
I almost committed suicide when I heard I had stunted growth – Chinedu Ikedieze