An angel gets her wings

An amputee, that’s how I feel – a part of me is no more. It’s been three months but it’s still hard to accept that you are no longer physically with us. Tharanganie Weerasena or ‘Babie’, as most of us knew her, was an angel lent to us by God to show us what ‘good’ is, and I guess he needed her back.

I miss our daily chats

Babie, you were my inner voice. Now I have to stop and think ‘what would Babie have said’ and it’s hard. Not hearing your reassuring voice every morning is very difficult.

There are so many little things you said and did every day that made such a positive impact on so many people. I love the way you walked in to any room and took charge. I remember when I had to undergo an MRI and how scared I was. You walked into the room and in under five minutes you were on first name terms with the technician and the nurse. Thanks to you, they made me so calm and made the process bearable. You had that in-built way of connecting with people. Everyone could see that you had that special spark in you.

I love that you saw the world in black and white, there was no grey. It was either right or wrong. No one else I know was able to live life on those terms. You did.

I love that you were like a kid when it came to birthdays and gift giving.

No birthday could pass without a gift and a card. Not many people bother with cards these days, but you did, and it needed to be a card that meant what you felt. The gift needed to be chosen carefully considering what the person liked etc. This was an enormous exercise over Christmas as you gave more gifts than Santa Claus; I have seen how 40 shirts were bought for the boys that brought medicines to the pharmacy and each one carefully selected to suit the receiver. I would say ‘oh just get 15 1/2 inch short sleeve, that will fit most’ and you would not be happy with that at all. Every shirt was handpicked considering the person. So that took a very, very long shopping trip.

And like clockwork you would come over to our house over Christmas and never forget to bring a gift for our maid. These little things you did made such an impact on people. Everyone who met you couldn’t help but love you because you took the time to be nice to people.

People ask ‘how are you?’ as a conversation starter, but not you; if you asked someone how they are, you meant it and most people would very quickly see how genuine you were and confide in you. You may not have been a doctor on paper, but you singlehandedly saved a lot of lives.

I love that you always saw the good in people; even if they only had very little of it.

I love that you took care of so many people. I know that 15 kids got their book lists bought by you every year. I know how much you did for the kids at the orphanage. I don’t know of anyone else who would go abroad on holiday and come back with 35 little suits for the kids at an orphanage. Your reason was ‘as soon as I saw the cute clothes I knew they’d look so cute on the kids at the home’. I’ve sat with you at the pharmacy and watched how you gave free medicines to people; those who asked for two days of medication on a prescription of five days, because they couldn’t afford it; or people who asked about the price of drugs and said they would come back later as they couldn’t afford it; or more recently how you helped people who couldn’t afford to stock up before a lockdown. All of them benefited from the kindness of your heart that knew no limits.

The signs were all there. You had to be an angel. No one else would have done the things you did. We just took for granted that you’d always be there. While I’m grateful to God for letting me be a part of your life, I wish I had more time with you Babie. I know you were meant for greater things and you are now with Jesus.

To my friend, my sister. Words cannot express how much I miss you, but I know you are always with me. That beaming smile will stay with me forever.