Former Miss Nigeria, Nike Oshinowo has
revealed that she’s been battling endometriosis (a condition resulting
from the appearance of endometrial tissue outside the uterus and causing
pelvic pain) since she was 13.
The 50-year-old beauty, who became the
mother of twins via surrogacy in America 3 years ago, made this
disclosure recently at the Gala Night of Fun and Fund Raising For
Endometriosis, organized by Endometriosis Support Group of Nigeria in
Lagos.
Narrating her ordeal with the ailment that has plagued her since her
boarding school days in England, the mother of two said, ‘I have lived
with endometriosis since the age of 13. I was sent to boarding school in
England when I was seven years old. It was during the first few days in
secondary school that I began my (menstrual) periods.
‘They called the ambulance and I was hospitalized for 10 days
because the pain started and wouldn’t stop. I thought I was going to
die, the first two days I was in the infirmary with the matron and she
kept saying, ‘O Adenike, we understand that you miss
your home, we understand that it is difficult for you, we understand
that every girl must go through it but just bear it.’
‘I’m telling the story because it happened in England and,
supposedly, the white people, who knew best, yet had no idea what was
wrong with me. Every female student they had dealt with, had a normal
period and coped with it, so they could not understand why I was
dramatizing. They thought I just wanted attention. The pain was so
intense I passed out. They called the ambulance and I was hospitalized.
The challenge was now to get me to stop bleeding.
‘Living with endometriosis is a challenge. When you see your doctor,
your doctor just tries to treat the symptoms and assumes the pain
resolves around your menstrual cycle. But this is not so. The pain
affects every single aspect of your life.
‘I, as Nike Oshinowo, have never had an examination without my
period, I have never travelled without my period. There are so many
things I have never done without my period. When I’m very happy, my
period comes, When I’m depressed, my period is there. I learned just to
cope with it. I love the quote that women wear their pain like
stilettos. That’s what I have been doing.
‘Until I turned 40, Nigerians didn’t know I suffered from
endometriosis. When I turned 40, I granted an interview and Nigerians
understood why I never drank alcohol. You cannot be on medication and
take alcohol. It was finally understood why I was so clean cut and into
healthy living.
‘The first time I experienced the pain of endometriosis was very
traumatic. I thought I was going to die. Really, I have lost count of
the number of surgeries that I have had but I sure know that it’s more
that 17 times.’