My name is Kwaku Mensah. I’m 35 years old and I live in Kumasi, Ghana. If somebody had told me three years ago that ordinary joint pain would almost destroy my happiness, my confidence, my work, and even the way I related with people around me, I would have laughed at them.

But today, after everything I have been through, I understand that pain is one thing you never truly understand until your own body begins to betray you.

It started gradually.

At first, it was just small pain around my knees whenever I woke up in the morning. I work long hours and I move around a lot, so I thought maybe my body was just tired. I ignored it. I kept pushing myself every day because as a man, especially in Ghana, you’re expected to stay strong no matter what you feel inside.

But within a few months, the pain changed.

What used to be small discomfort suddenly became severe pain in my knees, shoulders, lower back, and wrists. Sometimes I would sit down for just twenty minutes and standing up again would feel like somebody had tied heavy stones around my joints.