It was late evening, August 27, 2015. My phone rang, it was my husband. “Hullo, do you have Arnold’s medical card with you?” Right there, my heart sunk.
“Yes I do, why?” I asked, desperately forcing myself to stay calm. “I have received a call from the university that he has got a problem while in the swimming pool.”
On hearing this, my whole body went into a spasm but the outside remained composed. Arnold, 21, a third year student at Ndejje University is our first born.
At that moment I remembered my Sunday morning radio programme on Salt FM, where Sam, the presenter once said that in all situations, God’s name should be praised, I heard myself saying, “Lord, Hallowed be thy name!!”
That time, I put all my trust in God since I did not have any other choice. He is the one and only I’ve known since birth.
A few minutes later, I closed my office and left for home. Since it was still holiday time, my other three children were at home. On entering the house, I instructed them to close all doors, windows and Alvin (second born), to play five “praise and worship” songs.
They were so puzzled and raised questions “Mummy, why are you so happy? Has the land been given to you for free”? Alvin asked. I promised to tell them after singing the five songs.
Immediately, our living room changed into a dancing room. Alvin played five very good songs that they had learnt at school. It was such a wonderful moment but finally we had to stop. All the three were eagerly waiting to hear the good news.
Children all puzzled
Slowly but with a strong voice, I told them about the mysterious call that I had received from their father an hour ago. There were questions to which I never had answers.
I didn’t have details, neither did their father. Now, it was the silence that moved me but I chose to stay strong for their sake.
I told them to go and pray to God for help, for whatever the situation was. Outside, the sky had turned dark. “How is this night going to end?” I silently asked myself.
As the evening progressed, I made many calls to my husband but he didn’t have a lot to say. There were no details as yet.
Together with his closest friend, they impatiently waited at International Hospital Kampala where he had instructed that Arnold be taken.
Due to the traffic jam, it took very long for the van to arrive at the hospital. When it finally did, it was past 9pm. And right there lying on a clinical white board was his firstborn son, almost lifeless.
What happened to him?
He had gone to the university swimming pool at 3pm with his friends. This was almost a daily routine for the University swimming team. That day, he had been swimming for some hours.
A friend of his made one last dive into the pool, Arnold thinking it was a good idea, dived in too. On entering the water, he collided with someone he hadn’t noticed. As he went below, he realised that the arms and legs had lost all energy.
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