Mourning and "morning" of Quintine Christine

We met again after many days of chatting. She had just finished her degree in Business Statistics from Makerere University Business School and awaiting results. Even on the hospital bed in Kawempe Hospital after delivery of her baby, Quintine Christine Luutu did not forget to remind me about our sickle cell advocacy. She told me that she was waiting to have her baby grow and resume the advocacy work of which she had taken a break. The conversation we had it and two days later on 18^th September 2016 Quintine breathed her last.

Quintine Christine (RIP)

It was a time of mourning for losing a colleague on the frontline and fellow advocate. What we did not know was whether we shall see her son grow into a big boy. It was morning which we were not sure what would happen next. Its good news that his son made two years on 15^th September turning into a big boy. Today I find myself at crossroad whether to mourn Quintine or celebrate Maurice as morning.

Quintine’s life teaches us a lot more about life and living a positive life. Battling with sickle cell and not lamenting about life is what the lesson I learn from the life of Quin as we used to call her. She did a Bachelos Degree in Business Statistics which is not for faint hearted. All the time I met her at MUBS Campus she looked determined and was not in any way thinking of being cry baby and giving excuses to fail.

I have seen people with sickle cell disease looking at themselves as fragile and look at life in a negative way. Our ways of thinking shape the society perspective on sickle cell. If you look at sickle cell as pain only disease the public will also thing that a sickle cell warrior can’t achieve anything.

Maurice Muwanguzi

Quintine passed on but she brought to the world Maurice who brightens our morning everyday. Its a day of mourning of Quntine and celebrating her life and even the life he left with us (Maurice).