Dr Mal Weerasinghe: Anaesthetist who relieved pain of many

She belonged to the first batch of students of the Peradeniya Medical Faculty and closely associated with stalwarts such as Prof. Senaka Bibile and Dr. Osmund Jayaratne

The crowning moment of glory in her career was when she was elected as President of the College of Anesthesiologists of Sri Lanka in 2001

Dr. Malini Padmalatha Weerasinghe, or Dr. Mal as she was popularly known to her friends, was born in 1936 at her

maternal ancestral house in Ahangama.
Although her strong personality sometimes portrayed a strict demeanour outwardly, deep inside she had the kindest of hearts, full of compassion. Evidently, it is hard to find anyone in her immediate or extended family who was not touched by her kindness and compassion. And so, she was always sought after and trusted for any matter in the family, especially when it came to medical advice.

She was an ardent animal lover, and was known for her extraordinary acts of kindness to all animals wherever she went. Once, driving by she noticed a bull limping and struggling to draw a heavy cart. She followed the cart to the owner’s home and noticed an injury on the bull’s leg. Afterwards, she had advised the owner to attend to the wound and to rest the bull till it recovered. She had also given enough money to the owner for treatment and to cover the income he would lose as a result. This was typical of Loku Amma. She had this compassion for both man and beast alike. 

The decisions she took when helping others were extraordinarily selfless. Acts of kindness if gone wrong could have hurt her, but she didn’t think of consequences to her when she helped. She did it out of the goodness in her heart.

Loku Amma was the eldest in a family of two girls and two boys, and from a young age she guided not only her sister and two brothers, but also sometimes her parents. Her Father Mr. D.E. Weerasinghe was a headmaster at Ananda College, Colombo and a respected community leader in Gampaha. Her mother, Mrs. Seelawathie Weerasinghe, a housewife, was interestingly one of the first batch of students of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo. After Loku Amma’s birth, her father named the house ‘Padmagiri’ after her second name Padmalatha.

Her primary education was initially at the Ananda College, Gampaha. Her secondary education was at Musaeus College, Colombo where she won class prizes regularly and moved to Ladies College for her A/Levels. Although a bright student, fate had it that twice she failed in her attempts to get through to medical college, when her father advised her to choose another degree. But her passion for medicine was such that she implored her father to let her sit one last time and got through. 

She belonged to the first batch of students at the newly founded Peradeniya Medical Faculty and had the privilege of closely associating with stalwarts such as Prof. Senaka Bibile and Dr. Osmund Jayaratne. Those associations had a lasting impression on Loku Amma’s principles and outlook to life.

She travelled to the UK after her post graduate degree in Anaesthesia and fell in love with Europe and its culture. She loved travelling and absorbing the culture of different countries, especially Europe. I still remember how we as kids sat around with the whole family as Loku Amma enthusiastically showed photos of her travels to us, as a slideshow on a projector.

She also had a deep affection and pride for Sri Lanka and Buddhism. And however much she travelled and learnt different cultures she never forgot her roots and was happiest when serving the downtrodden people in rural Sri Lanka, her beloved motherland.

The crowning moment of glory in her career was when she was elected as President of the College of Anesthesiologists of Sri Lanka in 2001, and she got there through sheer dedication and hard work. 
She was very conscious of others’ suffering and as an anaesthetist was blessed to relieve the pain of thousands of patients. I remember once she noticed how frail patients without subcutaneous fat suffered pain when taken on metal stretchers without mats. So she donated cushioned mats specially made for trolleys transporting patients. Such was her empathy.

In her day, it was quite easy to emigrate abroad for greener pastures and many opportunities came her way, but her priority was her parents and her family. She always wanted to be there personally to care for her parents when they needed her, and she was indeed blessed in that endeavour. She took care of all their medical needs to relieve discomfort and pain and enabled a long and comfortable life for both. She took them to Dambadiva for pilgrimage, which was her proudest moment.

All these blessings came to fruition in her old age, where although she suffered from dementia and was bed bound for 4 long years, she was rarely in discomfort or pain as she was lovingly taken care of by her close family who attended to her every need.

She finally passed away very peacefully without any discomfort or pain.
Dear Loku Amma, Loku Akka and Loku Nanda, you will always be close to our hearts, and be remembered with eternal gratitude for all that you did for us.
May you attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.

(Sunethsri Jayasinghe)