Nollywood actress Kemi Afolabi shares her harrowing battle with lupus, from preparing for death to finding treatment abroad, and her ongoing fight for survival

Nollywood actress Kemi Afolabi has shared an emotional account of her ongoing battle with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy organs and tissues.

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Her ordeal began with severe joint pain, which she says was “far worse than childbirth.” After months of conflicting diagnoses at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), she travelled abroad and received confirmation of lupus — a condition with no known cure.

“When I was down with lupus, I thought the end had come. I couldn’t eat nor drink. I was using oxygen to breathe. I already bought where I would be buried and I wrote my will, but God said it was not yet time to go,” Afolabi revealed.

By March 2022, when her health crisis became public, she had already spent late 2021 preparing for what she feared were her final days. Doctors abroad warned she might have just five years to live — one of which had already passed.

In June 2022, she began treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, USA, relying on daily medications, regular injections, and strict lifestyle changes.

“I can’t be under light for a long time like I used to when acting,” she explained.

While crediting God, her family, friends, and colleagues for her survival, she also addressed hurtful rumours, including accusations of being “used spiritually.”

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She now uses her platform to raise awareness about lupus, noting that she had never heard of the disease until her diagnosis.