A legend in the field of Anaesthesiology, friend and colleague

My dear friend and colleague was only six months younger to me, although he passed out from Medical College four years after me. I first came to know him when he was in the final year in 1955, undergoing his training in obstetrics and gynaecology in the Prof. Unit where I was a tutor in obstetrics at that time.

The next time we met was in 1961 when I was the RO at the De Soysa maternity hospital, during which time I was going to the newly opened Maharagama Cancer Hospital to conduct clinics twice a week and had two operating sessions to insert radium needles for the cancers of the cervix - the most prevalent cancer in women at that time. I had a very keen house-officer, Dr. Masakorale and a keen anaesthetist, Dr. Thistle Jayawardena who were bored of inserting radium and wanted me to do radical Wertheim’s operations at Maharagama.

As there was no blood transfusion service available at Maharagama, Dr. Masakorale arranged to get the blood from Colombo and I did a large number of cancer operations, for the first time, in Maharagama.

The next time I met Dr. Thistle was in Badulla in 1964, when he was appointed as Consultant Anaesthetist to Badulla Hospital, on his return after qualifying in UK. I had the privilege of delivering his third child at the Badulla hospital and I named her ‘Lakmini’.

However, he was with us only for one year and was transferred to Kurunegala Hospital in January 1965. But before long in November 1965, he was appointed Consultant Anaesthetist to the Cardiothoracic Unit in the General Hospital, Colombo. This was a new post created to commence cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. He had further training in USA and came back to the country and became the pioneer in open heart surgery at that time. The country’s first Intensive Care Unit was opened on June 16, 1968, with Dr. Thistle in charge.

When I started working in Colombo I used to get his services in the private sector on complicated cases. I had the privilege of being Obstetrician for his family and extended families. I delivered his six grandchildren in Colombo, two each to Dharini, Chalaka & Lakmini. He was lucky enough to have two great-grandchildren during his lifetime.

After his retirement in 1988 he was appointed as a Director of the Durdans Hospital, till his retirement in 2013.

I’m deeply grateful to him for the interest he took in daily visiting my wife who was warded at Durdans Hospital for a heart ailment. He used to visit her every morning at 7.30 a.m. I will never forget the unfortunate incident that took place when he was leaving the ward after seeing my wife and how he fell down when he was trying to open the ‘push-door’ in the ward and broke his hip for which he had to have surgery. This unfortunately led to his retirement from Durdans.

During the next six years he had to undergo many hardships as he had another fall and fractured the other hip as well. He was however determined to attend various meetings of the SLMA in a wheelchair.

He was my Treasurer for 10 long years when I was President of the Sri Lanka Medical Library from 1996 to 2013, and rendered a great service, the library doing quite well financially.

It was very unfortunate that he had to lose his youngest daughter Lakmini at the age of 52, around two years ago. This upset him very much. He lost his wife, Amara three months after his daughter’s death. I was extremely happy when he decided to attend my 90th birthday celebrations at a Jetwing hotel, in 2018.

I knew him as a well-mannered, kind and considerate Doctor who was always immaculately dressed in his white suit.

He was a great philanthropist and a good Christian who attended the 6.30 a.m. service at Christ Church, Mount Lavinia every Sunday, without fail.

I would like to end with a quotation from the Bible:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

May the Good Lord grant Thistle eternal rest and happiness in His home in heaven!