Aishah Akorede impressed the judges with her African-inspired Samba dedicated to her mum Kemi on Dancing With The Stars but there was another reason the routine was so special to her.
The former Miss Universe Ireland credited her mother as being the biggest influence in her life and a pillar of support, as Aishah has dealt with sickle cell disease throughout her life.
Speaking after the show, Aishah admitted that talking about her condition on national TV is ‘the most terrifying thing ever’ but that she hopes sharing her story will help others.
Aishah wants to show that you can achieve anything when you put your mind to it and to remind everyone to always be kind as people often have things they’re dealing with that might not be obvious.
‘It’s the most terrifying thing ever,’ Aishah told EVOKE, adding: ‘Opening up on national TV is not an easy thing to do. I didn’t expect to do it to be very honest but I’m happy that sharing my story is going to help people and it has already as after an event at my old school students were reaching out to me.’
Aishah continued: ‘Sickle cell disease is not something that I speak about… and there are a few reasons why. Number one, I don’t want people to look at me as my illness. I want people to look at me as Aishah, who has done this, done that, who has helped these people, supported these people. The second reason is, I’ll be honest, I don’t have the exact same experience that other people with sickle cell have.
‘I am lucky and blessed to have a high hemoglobin F, I’m getting a bit scientific right now, but this kind of sickle cell usually presents in people from the Middle East, but obviously I’m African, so it’s quite rare.
‘There are a lot of people who have passed away that I know or who have had to get bone marrow surgery because of how serious their health disorder has become but I have been lucky all these years.
‘I’m not saying that I don’t experience hard times. I do get painful episodes and I struggle with my breathing at times and with my immune system I have to be careful of getting sick.’
Although she was worried that taking part in a show as demanding as Dancing With The Stars could have had a negative effect on her health, Aishah is delighted to see the opposite has happened.
She explained that dancing has helped with her stamina and that at a recent appointment, her doctors were impressed at how her ‘levels were through the roof’.
Aishah was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at birth so is well used to managing her condition but her mum Kemi has always been on hand to help as well.
’Every single opportunity I get to give kudos to my mum I give kudos because she is such a hard worker and she is so genuine, she is so supportive of everyone. She’s a queen. She’s an icon,’ Aishah said.
As for whether her mum was worried about her doing Dancing With The Stars, Aishah said: ‘I’m her little baby, I’m her princess. She knows I’m a responsible person but I am her daughter and it’s very important to her that I am okay. She cares a lot, and she makes sure I am doing okay.
‘She has a lot of knowledge about the condition because she’s a scientist, so if that means making my juices every day or checking if I’ve eaten, she does that. I’m really grateful for her. She’s not worried because she knows that I’m someone who never stops.’
Now that her condition is out there, Aishah hopes it’ll help educate others on sickle cell and remind people that lots of conditions are unseen.
’A lot of people don’t see the things that people are going through. I just want to spread a message of kindness in general. I really want people to be kinder and more understanding of other people’s situations because you never know what people are going through.
‘I hope that my story can motivate other people too to be kinder, be more understanding. That’s the main thing.’ Very well said, Aishah!
