Meet the brilliant UCC student who has been standing for five years

A 19-year-old Level 100 student at the University of Cape Coast is battling with a rare genetic disease which has left him in a stiff standing position for the past five years.

Enock Eshun, who suffers from Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), shared how this traumatic condition has affected his life since he was first diagnosed at the age of two.

Speaking to entertainment blogger Zion Felix in an interview, Eshun explained that his condition deteriorated due to his family’s reliance on herbal treatment at the early stages.

The former visual arts student of Mfantsipim School said he had to make the hard choice of remaining in a standing position, possibly for life, instead of being wheelchair-bound as a means of keeping his academic dreams alive.

Despite his commitment to his education, Eshun has to struggle in engaging in his daily activities, such as commuting to and from class.

Due to his condition, Eshun has to remain standing throughout the day, including during lectures, and only takes a rest at night when he goes to sleep, lying in the same position.

“In 2020, after the COVID break, they announced that JHS students should return back to school, and at that time, I was at my aunty's place in Abra. So on my way back home, I was in a rickshaw, and on our way, it bumped into a pothole, then I felt pains in my waist. At that point, we didn’t know anything about the illness, so I ignored it. As I came home, as time went on, the pains were becoming severe. I couldn’t sit; I had to stand. So I told my dad, and my dad started massaging it. That too was a mistake we made, so as the massaging was going on, I realized I couldn’t sit at all.

“With how the illness is, let’s say if I fall and break my hand and leave it like that, let's say it would be like this forever, and I wanted to further my education too. I didn’t want to be sitting in a wheelchair. Even walking around like this, look at how people stare at me; then imagine sitting in a wheelchair. So I had to take the risk to stand so that when it is forming, it will block me in standing, not sitting,” he stated.

Now left with only his mother to cater for him following the death of his father, Eshun, who relies on private or chartered transport, explains that financial difficulty remains another challenge for him.

Even feeding is a major problem due to the stiffening of his jaw, which he barely struggles to open.

What is Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP)?

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a rare genetic disease that causes muscles and connective tissues to turn into bone. This process is called ossification, and it creates a second "skeleton" that limits movement.

Some symptoms of the condition include malformed big toes, progressive loss of mobility, muscle swelling and inflammation, difficulty in speaking and eating, breathing difficulties, hearing impairment, and curving of the spine.

Currently, there is no cure for the FOP condition.

Watch the interview with Enock Eshun below:

Zionfelix Meets The University Of Cape Coast Student Who Can’t Sit And Has Been Standing For 5 Years pic.twitter.com/GOSAZzYrgZ

— Zionfelix (@onua_zionfelix) February 8, 2025

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