Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emmitt Henderson III. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Emmitt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

My nonprofit organization is called Male Lupus Warriors Corp. According to statistics, 15-20% of Lupus patients are men. What’s even a lower percentage, is men advocating for Lupus. Since 1995, I dealt with this disease, work and Life until a Brain Disease (Lupus related) medically retired me in 2019. I wanted to start an organization based on the lack of resources that I had access to when needing education on this disease and how men dealt with it. I did Not have a Support group to be a part of, nor was there any other men that I could reach out to. Naming my organization “Male Lupus Warriors” lets the Lupus and Autoimmune Disease community know that in this predominately woman industry, this advocacy is coming from a Man. I felt this would work because I had a Story of Survival to tell. With almost every organ and system affected in my body because of Lupus, I managed to survive every episode and I’m Thriving Today! I am Solving the problem today, by becoming the Voice to many people that was Not there for me in my early years with this Disease. I’m excited to know I have many people reaching out to me to gain knowledge on how I survived everything that Lupus brought to me. I am providing Inspiration and Hope to other Lupus patients and bringing strength to men and letting then know, that at times, it is Ok to Not be Ok.

Emmitt, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I had Lupus symptoms going back to 1980 as a kid, then after almost 2yrs, the symptoms went away on their own. 15yrs later, new symptoms emerged and I was officially diagnosed with System Lupus and Lupus Nephritis. Based on my experience with Lupus and all the pain it put me through, I got myself to a point where I am Winning against this disease and I decided to become a Full Time Advocate, to help spread Lupus Awareness, Education and Inspiration. Once funded, my organization will provide financial support to those in need of finances due to lack of work because of their debilitating disease. What sets me apart is the fact that I am a Male advocating for a disease that predominantly affects women and its advocating comes from women ran organizations. I’m most proud of the amount of engagements I receive from my Posts on Social Media and the Involvement I get from the community when hosting events. I’m also Honored to be asked to tell my story on many platforms including the Lupus and Autoimmune platforms, Men’s Health, Transplant and Clinical Trial platforms as well.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the most hardest situations I had to bear with Lupus was when I went through Heart Failure. This episode also showed how Resilient I was to defy the odds that i wasn’t going to make it. I was admitted into the hospital with chest pains and a bad cough. when i was given a hospital room, i passed out and apparently thats when this story gets deep! From the time i checked in to being released, a whole month and a half had passed. I experienced Cardiomyopathy of my Heart and was in Heart Failure. I was induced into paralyzation to avoid a heart attack and needed the Grace of God and Prayers to help me through. I slipped into a Coma within 1 week and my vitals were dropping fast. My heart rate slowed down so fast that the Dr’s didn’t think i was going to make it through the night. They told my parents to prepare for the worst. My Dad who made the decisions refused to let the Dr’s give up on me and insisted they continue treatment. They placed me on an experimental drug at the time and it actually worked by my vitals and heart beat showing signs of improvement. After 3.5 weeks, my vitals were stable and i awoke from the coma. Because of the paralyzation, I could not move any part of my body and I was released to rehabilitation. I vigorously worked hard on my movement and eventually I was ready to go home. I was called a walking miracle because I was dismissed by the Dr’s of Not making it out of this. My Resilience to live and Prayers from my family is what got me through it all.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I built my audience on Social Media by telling my story of Surviving Lupus. I didn’t know i had a story till i told my story and the Lupus and Autoimmune Community gravitated to it. It was Uncommon to hear a man’s story with Lupus and my story grabbed the community by storm. I made posts from every episode i’ve been through and it seemed to not only inspire those reading but educated them on what this disease can do to a person. From the Transplants, joint replacements, multiple organ failures, over 30 medications per day, chemo and radiation therapies, people wanted to know everything i went through and most importantly, what was the driving factor that got me through it all. I created Male Lupus Warriors Merchandise with shirts, wristbands, face masks, key lanyards, and phone pop sockets. People bought them from me to support my cause and to expand their Lupus apparel. My advice to build your social media presence is to be consistent. Our diseases do not take a day off, when it comes to Advocating, why should we?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.malelupuswarriors.org
• Instagram: malelupuswarriors
• Facebook: emmitthendersoniii
• Linkedin: malelupuswarriors
• Twitter: malelupuswarriors
• Other: Tik Tok: malelupuswarriors

Image Credits
Image Credits: Male Lupus Warriors Corp Gibson Lupus Arc WEGO Health