Sickle Cell Anaemia: What Tosyn Bucknor’s Death Teaches Us About Choosing The Right Marriage Partner
dailyadvent.com
May 24, 2019 6:36 PM
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic diseases worldwide and its highest prevalence occurs in the Middle East, Mediterranean regions, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa especially Nigeria. It is a blood cell disorder that causes the red blood cells to take on a sickle or moon shape, due to an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein called Haemoglobin. Because of their shape, these cells stick to vessel walls and block the flow of blood, preventing proper circulation of oxygen. The result is that the sufferer does not have enough healthy red blood cells.
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The disease has succeeded in sending a lot of people to early graves. The lives of youngsters who should be enjoying their prime and making it in life have been cut short by this deadly disease. According to Amoto Sani, a doctor in Osun state, the condition is inherited by people born with two sickle genes (S gene), one from each parent. “Anyone with the AS genotype is a sickle cell carrier. This means that the person does not have SCD but carries one of the genes that cause the condition,” he adds.
Basically, carriers of sickle cell won’t necessarily develop the disease but are at risk of having a child with the condition which is why the medical industry has advised that anyone with the AS genotype should find partners with the AA genotype as that ensures that none of their children will have sickle cell disease. Unfortunately, a lot of people with the AS genotype have paid deaf ears to this warning as they still go ahead to get married all in the name of love.
There have been lots of cases of people who died from sickle cell disorder at very young ages and I’m sure some of us have also had experiences of SCD patients who also struggled with the ailment and eventually lost their lives. Some patients get lucky as they are able to fight through the condition and live long even though its very rare. There are sickle cell patients who see the need to enjoy life and be successful as a waste of time because they feel sooner or later, they would be gone while others, despite their conditions strive hard to be productive and make it in life.
A good example of sickle cell patients who fought and strove to live life to the fullest while they could is late on-air-personality, Tosyn Bucknor. She was a very beautiful, young, vibrant and hardworking young woman despite her condition as a sickle cell patient. Oluwatosin Bucknor, born on 15th August, 1981 and popularly known as Tosyn Bucknor, was a Nigerian media personality, actress, singer and social media content creator.
Bucknor was born to Mrs. Sola Bucknor and Mr. Segun Bucknor, a musician, in a cab on August 15. She was sister to Funke Bucknor, CEO of Zapphaire Events. Tosyn attended Fountain Nursery and Primary School, Queens’ College, Yaba, University of Lagos (LAW) and the Nigerian Law School, Lagos (LLB). She did her National Youth Service Corps at Port Harcourt, opting to teach Literature-In-English and English at Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls’ School, Elelenwo.
Tosyn married her French boyfriend Aurélien Boyer November 15, 2015 at Landmark Events Centre, Oniru but unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last more than 3 years as the deadly and dreaded sickle cell disease untimely took her away from him. Tosyn was said to have been found dead by her husband, Aurelien Boyer, when he arrived home from work on the 19th of November 2018. Her sister, Funke Bucknor Obruthe said through her instagram account that Tosyn died due to sickle cell complications. She was born with sickle cell anaemia. While mourning her, it was revealed how Tosyn predicted her death through a poem she wrote, which had gone viral, few days before her death.
She was a role model to many because of her strength, perseverance and achievements. Tosyn beat all odds despite her condition, did everything she loved to do and achieved all she could within the short space of time she had on earth. In this situation, should we blame her parents for bringing such misfortune upon her and cutting her life short? Well, it could be either ways. Its possible they had no orientation or knowledge on the right person to go for as a life partner based on genotype or they did have the knowledge and just chose to ignore it. Whatever it is and like they say, what would be would be.
According to statistics, there are 4 million sufferers and 47.5 million carriers of Sickle Cell Disorders in Nigeria which has placed it as the country with the highest concentration of victims of Sickle Cell Disease in the world. This was revealed by a professor at Igbinedion University, Okada, Dominic Osayande Osaghae, as he confirmed that Nigeria has the highest concentration of sickle cell disease sufferers in the world.
He urged the federal government to establish a sickle cell control programme to manage the 47.5 percent carriers of the disease in the country. Further findings revealed that 100,000 babies are born with the disease each year, Nigeria has the highest rate of sickle cell disease in the world. One in two babies are said to be born with SCD in Nigerian.
But then, we are grateful for modernization and technology as there’s more awareness on sickle cell these days and a lot is being done to reduce the risk of birthing sickle cell patients. Youths of marriageable ages are being seriously counseled and given the right orientations on the right partners to marry in order to avoid putting the lives of their future children at risk. So please before you fall in love or start a relationship with a person, ensure you ask of his or her genotype, or better still go do a test together to be on a safe side because these has destroyed a lot of relationships, marriages and families.
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