Hitting Home Series: Pain by Death by Jadesola Giwa
Our Hitting Home Stories invite everyday people who are on their way to better health, have overcome or witnessed a loved one with chronic disease issues to share their personal stories. These are true stories that take courage to share and we hope they inspire you to get started or keep at your journey to better health and wellbeing. To submit your story, email us at info@engageafricafoundation.org
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Time of birth
6:41pm
I had just come back from the gym
That I went to after the memorial
That I didn’t see myself go to,
But I went to
Show respect.
Respect for the five dead,
And the lost soul.
At this moment,
And I mean second,
123, 534
Dead.
Its been approximately 50secs and
123, 700
Dead.
Makes me wonder if the
7, 266,749, 451
People alive
Include those resurrected.
I’m trying to find hope.
Death has become
A word that I hate.
A reality too difficult to accept,
Constantly surprised at its occurrence
Yet it happens so frequently.
Death,
The reason why mama couldn’t eat,
Uncle cried,
Mom went,
Students gathered,
And we mourn.
The chaplain said something about
Moving on.
He didn’t say how
Do you move on
When a piece of you is gone?
Do you continue the same routine
When the friend you say hello to
At exactly 9:50am after your class
While on their way to class
Is no longer there?
Do you pretend to be on the other end of the phone
When they are gone?
Do you role-play their life
While trying to live yours?
Or do you accept their absence and
Move on
As if they weren’t there
Because they aren’t there
To give witty comments,
And dis your favourite sport team.
The chaplain said something about
Moving on,
He didn’t say how.
Time of death
April 16, 9:29am.
So it seemed
As pages of Dewale's smile
And compassionate heart,
Presented themselves as stories
In my book of memories.
As the blood of the five
Aligned as lines on my blank pages.
No stories to write,
Just tears that paint the feeling of my emotion.
Up and down
Transparent and opaque.
But, this is how I moved on:
When I hurt
The assurance of God's love gave me healing.
When I met the feet of my King with years of questions,
His Truth slew the lies masking my vision.
I saw again,
I saw hope
And I found it at the cross of Christ.
It’s almost a year since my 18-year-old cousin died, and almost 9 months since five U of C students were murdered. Both have connections to non-communicable diseases: my cousin had sickle cell, however, he’s death was as a result of the implications of the disease not because of the disease itself. On the other hand, a victim of a mental health disorder murdered Zackariah Rathwell, Josh Hunter, Jordan Segura, Lawrence Hong, and Kaiti Perras.
The effect of this news was devastating. To recognize the communicable effects of death on psychological well being, the University of Calgary provided students with the option to defer their final exams with the opportunity to write them later in the year. Similarly, students supported each other with hugs and candy care packages. In these actions, we see how aspects of health (mental and social) and a social determinant of health (education) is affected and addressed. Non-communicable diseases might be silent, and may not require the immediate need for medication or quarantine, but they are just as detrimental. For this reason, we should analyze and execute action at all levels of influence. This includes: society/public policy, community, organization, interpersonal, and the individual. As an individual it is our responsibility to make use of the services designed to improve our health. By so doing, we also inform the delivery of service to ensure that our population health is less vulnerable to non-communicable diseases.
Jadesola is an alumna of the University of Calgary's Bachelor of Health Sciences program.
She is interested in improving the socioeconomic status of low-middle income individuals by addressing the social determinants of health. Her previous work includes the development of health interventions tailored to the needs of women of ethnic miniorities.
If you would like to support Engage Africa Foundation's mission, click here