The Nigerian actress Kemi Afolabi has talked candidly about her near-death experience following her lupus diagnosis. In lupus, the body’s organs and tissues are attacked by the immune system, a chronic autoimmune disease.
Afolabi disclosed in March 2022 that her doctor had informed her that she had only five years to live after she was diagnosed with the illness the year before.
Concern and support poured in from movie industry colleagues, fans, and celebrities after the revelation. Her treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, USA, had begun by July 2022.
When her health declined, Afolabi said she had braced herself for the worst in a recent interview on Doyin Kukoyi TV.
The actress said she “bought where I would be buried and wrote my will,” recalling how the illness was hard to diagnose in Nigeria. Afolabi revealed that she continues to take medicine for the illness and travel abroad for treatment on a regular basis.
She said, “When I was down with Lupus, I thought the end had come. I was on my sickbed and couldn’t eat or drink. I was using oxygen to breathe. I already bought where I would be buried, and I even wrote my will because I thought it was all over.
“But God said it was not yet time to go. I survived with the power of God, the support of my fans, and my family. My colleagues surprised me. Everybody stood up for me.
“Lupus has killed a lot of people. I had never heard of it till I experienced it. I was diagnosed with several illnesses before discovering it was Lupus. It is an autoimmune disease that makes your body’s system work against itself.
“Every joint in my body gave me excruciating pain. The pain from childbirth is nothing compared to the pain of Lupus. It was difficult. I stayed longer at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) because they couldn’t tell what was wrong with me until I traveled out and was told it’s Lupus.
“Lupus has no cure. I am still managing it with medications, but I’m better. I travel abroad every now and then because of it. I have improved tremendously because there was a time when I had to get an injection every day. I can’t be under the light for a long time like I used to when acting.
“People were saying so many things, but the one that got to me most and made me sad was when someone made a video of my situation and said I have been used.”
