Ghanaian Della Seneadza lives in Accra and suffers from the inherited blood disorder sickle cell anaemia. He tells the BBC about what it is like to live with this chronically painful disease, for which there is no cure, in a country he feels is indifferent to the problems of disabled people.
The first painful episode came when I was seven years old. I was reading on the sofa after school and I felt severe pains in my back.
It was so bad, I ran to my mother crying.
As a child, my parents always asked me if I had taken my medication. That was when I realised I was different and had to face up to my condition.
The stabbing pain in my joints is what is commonly known as a "crisis". It ranges from mild to acute, and can last from 30 minutes to several months.
My worst crisis lasted four months with continuous pain and vomiting. When I have a crisis at night, the pain is unbearable and I cannot control myself. It's very difficult to find a comfortable position and I end up screaming.
I've had a lot of sleepless nights. Obviously, you can't sleep when you are in so much pain.
Drug addiction
I've had many close shaves with death.
Once I walked into hospital during a crisis and when I got back my haemoglobin test results, my levels were so low the doctors were surprised I was still alive - let alone able to walk. Anyone else with an HP as low as mine would have died - God is always with me.
When I was young, my family never knew when a teacher would turn up at their home with me in tow screaming, in a crisis. They were always worried about me, but I still had to do my fair share of washing the dishes - I was never allowed to wallow in my condition or use it as an excuse.
I have to avoid overly strenuous activities, but I do enjoy playing football, although I have to force myself to stop when I get tired. I have learnt to become an avid reader instead.
Rather than excelling physically outdoors, I stay in and think creatively. I write music and come up with programme ideas. I use my mind rather than my body. Most of the time, I see myself as a human being rather than a sickle cell sufferer.
I coped very well with the pain until I got to university. The unpredictable nature of each crisis and the severity of the pain affected my studies.
My media degree involved a lot of TV production and the last thing I needed was to end up in hospital for two months and start all over again. I couldn't afford to miss lectures or to let my social life suffer.
At the time, two of my closest university friends died of sickle cell and I began to live in fear of the next crisis. I wondered if I would survive, so I began to self-medicate.
I injected pethadine to subdue the pain. Initially, it made me feel I could get on with my life and be on top of my studies, but soon I became addicted to an expensive drug and so the downward spiral began.
Relationships
I couldn't afford my addiction, so I began borrowing money which I was unable to pay back. I was desperate and even stole money.
Pethadine made me so drowsy that I ended up at home asleep most of the time. I missed so many lectures, I had to drop out of university.
Eventually my family discovered my secret and we are all still recovering from the consequences. But I am determined to go back and finish my degree.
It never occurred to me to blame my parents or God. My mother is a nurse and my father was a doctor. People have said they should have known better, but I am the only one out of six brothers with full-blown sickle cell anaemia. It could have happened to anyone.
I don't resent their good health - I love my brothers too much. If God had to hand out sickle cell all over again, I'd want him to pick me. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Now that I'm older, I've realised the significance of people's blood types. When I enter into a new relationship, she must be completely free from sickle cell anaemia to prevent the cycle from happening again.
I ask girls about their geno type and if they've been tested for sickle cell. If they don't give the right answers, I'd rather just be friends.
I don't want to hurt anyone or put them under pressure. I'm a bit of a loaner now.
The support from my family has been amazing, but sadly the same cannot be said of Ghanaian society. Sickle cell clinics, support groups and re-hab centres are on the back burner of everybody's mind.
In a developing country, people are more concerned about jobs and economic development rather than supporting those with disabilities.
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