The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE death of a 20-year-old University of The Bahamas nursing student and athlete sent shockwaves through the Abaco community yesterday, with her mother struggling to comprehend the loss of a daughter she described as “so full of life” and with “so much to offer”.

Dahphaney Maxine, a second-year nursing student from Abaco, was found unresponsive in her university dormitory shortly after midnight and rushed to hospital.

The University of The Bahamas said CPR was initially administered and emergency personnel responded to the scene. The Tribune understands Maxine was later pronounced dead in hospital.

The university said it is working with the appropriate authorities to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Maxine was a student leader, volleyball athlete and resident assistant at the university’s dormitories. She was also active in her church.

Her death has devastated relatives and members of the Abaco community, where news of her passing spread yesterday. Her mother, Crystal Bostwick, said the loss came just one day before the anniversary of her own mother’s death. “This is hard,” Ms Bostwick wrote on Facebook, “but I know that God would not put more on me than I can bare.”

She described her daughter as having lived a short but bright life and spoke of the extraordinarily close relationship they shared.

“The first beat outside of my body,” she said. “If you know, you know that this was my chocolate baby. My baby that had been with me through thick and thin.”

Ms Bostwick said there was nothing the two did not share and that their relationship moved easily between friendship and that of mother and daughter.

“I knew when to be a friend,” she said. “I knew when to step in as her mother. Peas in a pod.”

Maxine’s best friend and cousin, Keturah, said she would remain grateful for their memories and pledged to honour her life.

“Through good times and difficult moments,” she said, “she was someone I could count.”

She said the two had been inseparable since childhood.

“We were attached to the hip from we were babies,” she said, “and it was still like that until the moment she left.”

Keturah said Ms Maxine’s love, kindness and impact would live on.

The University of The Bahamas Student Government Association also offered condolences to Maxine’s family yesterday, telling them they were not alone in their grief.

The association highlighted the demands Maxine faced as both a student and athlete and praised the qualities she brought to university life.

“As fellow Mingoes and student athletes,” the association said, “we recognise the dedication, discipline, sacrifice, and commitment required to excel both in the classroom and on the court.”

It said Maxine embodied teamwork, leadership, perseverance, character and integrity while supporting those around her.

The cause of death is unknown.