Many were the times he risked his life to save our servicemen
A surgeon and teacher par excellence who risked his life to serve the injured solders fighting to protect the unity and integrity of the country- Dr. Merenna Harrot de Zoysa, passed away last Tuesday after a prolonged illness.
He was born to a family of five at Madampe, Ambalangoda on November 11, 1930 and had his primary education at Dharmashoka College, Ambalangoda, and his secondary education at Ananda College, Colombo.
After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo in 1957 with Honours, he did his internship under Professor C. C. de Silva, the first Professor of Paediatrics in Sri Lanka and Professor D. A. Ranasingha, Professor Obstetrics and Gynaecology. With Prof. C. C. de Silva he published an article on ‘A case of amoebic granuloma of the caecum with an acute appendicular abscess in early infancy’ in the Tropical Paediatrics journal.
He then worked as a Registrar to Professor Milroy Paul, Professor of Surgery, for over two years and during this period he published an article on ‘Transitional-cell carcinoma of the ureter’ with Prof. Paul in the prestigious British Journal of Urology.
He proceeded to the UK for postgraduate studies and obtained the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1967. There was a shortage of surgeons in Sri Lanka then and the hospitals had minimal facilities. Unlike many doctors who left at that period for post-graduate studies he returned to Sri Lanka to serve his motherland. He worked in the General Hospitals of Galle, Ratnapura, Colombo South and the National Hospital of Sri Lanka as a Consultant Surgeon, rendering yeoman service to the citizens of our country.
In the National Hospital, in addition to his surgical work, he contributed immensely to the training of both undergraduates and postgraduates. Even when the Colombo Medical School was closed there were a number of medical students who joined his ward rounds and clinics voluntarily.
After a distinguished career of 33 years, he retired from the Ministry of Health on November 11, 1990. This opened another chapter in his life. This was the time when Eelam war 2 had commenced after the failed peace talks with the Government of Sri Lanka. There were a large number of military casualties and the forces faced an acute shortage of medical personnel.
Realizing the gravity of the situation and the national need of the hour Dr. de Zoysa took the courageous decision of serving the Army. When after retirement, most professionals want to relax, go slow and enjoy life, he took the brave decision of treating the wounded servicemen.
Without waiting even a day after his retirement, he joined the Sri Lanka Military Hospital on November 12, 1990 as the only General Surgeon of the Sri Lanka Army at that time.
He saved the lives of many brave soldiers at the Palaly Military Hospital during major military operations, particularly during ‘Balawegaya 1’, ‘Balawegaya 2’, ‘Akunupahara’ and ‘Leap forward’. He had a great love and compassion towards these injured servicemen and all the risks to his life were secondary to this.
During this period several military aircraft were shot down by the LTTE and flying was considered dangerous but this did not deter him. He flew to Palaly often and would vividly recall the daring flying missions of our brave Air Force pilots. On several occasions due to heavy firing from below, the pilots had to stay in the air until the firing ceased and ground clearance was given to land. Once, the pilot had to make an emergency belly landing when he was on board.
Even with all this work, he did routine major operations on servicemen and their family members and conducted surgical clinics at the Military Hospitals at Colombo and Panagoda.
In appreciation of his services to the Sri Lanka Army, he was made an Honorary Brigadier in 1995. He was also presented with a special award in recognition of his 20 years of service to the Army in 2010.
Dr. de Zoysa officially retired from the Sri Lanka Army on November 11, 2011, after 21 years of uninterrupted service. Even after retirement he continued to serve the Army and conducted clinics at Narahenpita and Panagoda Military Hospitals until he became ill.
His wife, Dr. Nandrani de Zoysa another dedicated medical professional was the former Director of the National Blood Transfusion Service. Their only child, Professor Ishan de Zoysa, following in his father’s footsteps works as a Consultant Surgeon attached to the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo.
Asked about the risks he took by serving the injured soldiers in the warfront Dr. de Zoysa said, “These children are sacrificing their lives to have a better future for us and it is our duty to look after them when they are injured”.
These are words to remember as there are many injured and disabled servicemen today who are gradually being forgotten by society.
The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, recognising his services to the nation and the profession, honoured its senior life member Dr. de Zoysa, by awarding him an honorary fellowship on August 15 last year.
Dr. M. H. de Zoysa, a patriotic son of Sri Lanka gave dedicated service to our people, our country, and our nation and to our brave servicemen in their hour of need, never thinking of his personal gain, money or comforts and ignoring all possible risks to his life.
May he attain Nibbana.
Prof. Ravindra Fernando