Cyril Ernest, Cardiologist and Cricketer par excellence

THE SPEEDY VIRTUAL INTERVIEW SERIES

Episode 1,  April 2016

Cyril Ernest, Cardiologist and Cricketer par excellence

It is my great pleasure to record this virtual interview with my pal Cyril and I thank him for his kind permission to post this on our own Blog, ColomboMedgrads1962 which as we all know is the brainchild of Lucky Abeyagunawardene.

Speedy: Good morning Cyril. 

Cyril: Good morning Speedy, or should it be Mahen?

Speedy: Don’t mind! I know that you are used to calling me Speedy. Cyril, most of us of course know that you entered Medical school in 1962after  doing a six-month course in chemistry at the University of Ceylon in Colombo. But coming from St Benedict’s, how is it that you were sent to Peradeniya and not Colombo?

Cyril: That remains a mystery but I was very happy at Peradeniya at the brand new Medical school there.

Speedy:  It is also on record that while at St. Benedict’s College you excelled in several sports – cricket, hockey, tennis, and track & field – representing your school in all these sports and also playing in combined-schools teams, and participating in public schools events and meets. Of course once you entered Medical School, your priorities must have changed. Tell us how you met these new challenges, i.e., pursuing a quite demanding study schedule with sports.

Cyril: Absolutely right Speedy. Once I entered the university, studies were my major concern, though I pursued my sporting career but confining myself to two sports – cricket and hockey. With my sporting prowess, I was able to get into the university cricket and hockey teams. Being in Peradeniya was a distinct disadvantage to combine sports with my studies, as all the sporting events were in Colombo. I was somehow able to manage to combine both pursuits, sports and studies, and keep up my grades, while being on the varsity teams for both.

Speedy: There were many talented cricketers in University at the time. Could you tell us a bit more about them?

Cyril: That is correct. When I entered medical school my classmates included contemporary cricketers Cecil Saveryimuthu, a fellow Bendictine teammate (pace bowler), SenarathJayatilleke, a dashing batsman from St. Anne’s College Kurunegala, and Kumar Gunawardena, a wicketkeeper/batsman, from St. Thomas’ College. Talented as they were as cricketers, they did not pursue playing cricket and decided to concentrate on their studies. My other school contemporaries, LareefIdroos (St. Thomas’ College), Harsha Samarajeewa (Royal College), and KiththaWimalaratna (Royal College) continued their pursuits in cricket. We were teammates in the University Cricket Eleven.

Speedy:That is an impressive list! I know that the University Cricket Team took part in the Sara Trophy Tournament. Tell us a bit more about those times.

Cyril: Yes Speedy. Looking back now, I often wonder how I did it!  Playing cricket on the Varsity A team, in the Sara Trophy Tournament, was very time-consuming and it did, to a certain extent, interfere with our academic pursuits. However, we persevered and we were regular members of the University Eleven. We were regular members of the Sara Trophy cricket team from 1961/62 to 1966/67.

Speedy: Could you give us some idea of the schedule in those days?

Cyril: During the cricket season, which was from March to August, we were involved in matches with our rival teams every weekend and having daily practices during the week. This was quite a tedious routine and we stuck to our tasks, helping the team to be a force to be reckoned with. Unlike the other participating teams in the tournament, Varsity had to contend with key players missing matches due to exams, as well as, leaving the team on graduation. Despite these hardships, we were an enthusiastic band of players and during our time, we reached the final playoff rounds every season between 1962 and 1967.

Speedy: What were the greatest achievements of the Team that gives you a lot of pride?

Cyril: 1962/63 was a great year, when we won the Sara Trophy championship, being national champions in cricket under the captaincy of Carlyle Perera – another medico. The next year too, we almost won the championship under Buddy Reid – another medico, losing by the slimmest of margins (0.04 points) to Bloomfield due to an unfortunate error in the field, a dropped catch. The university cricket team was rewarded for their national championship with an all-expense paid trip to Singapore and Malaysia in 1963. Here too, we excelled. Lareef, Harsha, Kiththa and myself, were preparing for our second MBBS exam, and foolishly we took our textbooks and skeleton to study on the tour. Which, of course, never materialized, being distracted by other goings-on.

Speedy: It is my recollection that there were a lot of Medicos in the Varsity Team in that era who Captained the Team. Could you please tell us a bit about them?

Cyril: Your recollection is good! I see that so far you have been spared from memory changes which some of us may experience in the future. The Varsity cricket team was captained in 1963/64 by Buddy Reid, followed by Mohanlal Fernando in 1964/65, LareefIdroos in 1965/66, and myself in 1966/67. In 1966, I captained the University of Ceylon cricket team on its’ tour to India for the inter-university cricket tourney in Bangalore.

Speedy: How did you fare in Bangalore?

Cyril:We had a very good team, but we were unable to advance beyond the second round, due to local conditions and most importantly, the biased umpiring decisions by the local umpires.

Speedy: That must have been tough to take.

Cyril: Yes it was and there were other unexpected problems too.Let me tell you an interesting story. I went on the Indian tour just three weeks before the third MBBS exam. I was in a panic on my return because of a lack of preparation for my exam. However, two of my classmates, whose names I shall not reveal, helped me out immensely by coaching me in bacteriology and forensic medicine. They were my life savers. Unfortunately, when the results of the exam were revealed, I had passed and they had failed in the very subjects they had helped me with.

Speedy: That seems so unfair, but that is life I suppose!

Cyril:  Yes indeed!

Speedy: Tell me Cyril, did you ever represent Sri lanka in cricket?

Cyril:LareefIdroos and I, from our class, were fortunate enough to have represented Ceylon in international cricket competitions.

Speedy: That is a great achievement and we are very proud of both of you. Any other unforgettable cricketing memories?

Cyril: Well, there is something which I shall never forget. I was playing on the Rest Eleven against the Nationalised Services Eleven at the Colombo Oval in the Robert Senanayake trophy pentangular tournament in 1967, just one week before my finals. I was batting well and a Sylvester Diaz (pace bowler) bouncer did me in when I tried to hook him and had my nose shattered. I was taken to the emergency room, by taxi, with blood streaming, and had Dr.RienziePieris reset my displaced nasal bone fracture. You wouldn’t believe that I came back and batted again, scoring 48 runs – this was at a time when I was vying for a place on the Ceylon side. I went back to BLOEM with a thundering headache but recovered in time to take my final exam the next week, and managed to pass again.

Speedy: That is some story Cyril, speaks volumes for your courage and tenacity.

Cyril: Not really Speedy. When these things happen, you just get on with it as best as you can!

Speedy:Any other cricketing memories from those days you want to share with readers?

Cyril:During our days in medical school, we also played on the medical college team, in the annual Law/Medical game. Lareef, Harsha, Kiththa, EaswaraKanapathipillai, and I were teammates in 1966. Lareef captained the side. After graduating from medical school we went our separate ways and Lareef played for SSC, and I played for the NCC side and later for the Adastrians, when I joined the Air Force.

Speedy:  You left Sri Lanka and moved to California in February 1972.

Cyril: That is right, In February 1972 I migrated to the United States, Lareef having left in 1971. I joined Lareef in New York and we were together at Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, where there were several other Sri Lankans doing internship and residency. In 1977, I moved to California, Lareef having moved there in 1976.

Speedy: Were you able to pursue your interest in Cricket?

Cyril: We both resumed our cricketing career in California, playing in the Southern California Cricket Association tournament. Our cricketing abilities were recognized by the USA Cricket selectors and we were both selected to play on the USA Cricket team in 1979 against Canada in Vancouver. Lareef did well, scoring 60 runs in the first innings and I got 4 wickets in the match. I was once again selected for the Associate Member World Cup tournament in 1982, representing the United States in Birmingham, England. I took an interest in the administrative aspects of USA cricket and was at one time manager of the USA team, and also chairman of selectors, despite the heavy schedule of being a Cardiologist. Lareef and I were members of the Hollywood Cricket Club and we went on many a tour to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa, England, South America, and the West Indies. Those were happy outings and we had the privilege of meeting and playing against many an old test cricketer.

Speedy: Cyril, that was a most enjoyable journey with you and I am sure all our readers will enjoy reading it as much as I did. Thanks you so much and I look forward to seeing you in March next year at our Reunion.

Cyril: Thank you Speedy for your interest and I do hope that these memoirs, recalled at your behest, is not misconstrued as if I am tooting my own horn. I am still working full time and hope to attend the reunion in Sri Lanka in March 2017.

Speedy: Rest assured Cyril, there is no danger of that at all and once again, thank you so much.

A Tribute to the Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital

An appreciative parent writes about the services provided by the Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital when her son was warded there with Dengue Fever.

The writer's husband Johann Bandaranayake (a nephew of Sriani Basnayake) further says that the family was touched by the medical and personal care provided by the hospital and staff. They had thought of showing their appreciation through this article.

WAY TO GO Lady Ridgeway Hospital!!!

The first thing most parents of middle income families want to do when a child falls sick is to ensure that their child has the best of care, and with this noble intention will not think twice before scraping up their meagre savings to have their child admitted to a name recognised private hospital with all its creature comforts than consider the “much in the news” (for the wrong reasons) government hospital assuming that the former is better. 

In many ways their perception seems justified, there are no strict visiting hours so you can be with your child at any time, your sure of a bed not only for the child but also for yourself, you can demand certain amount of service, have access to state of the art medical facilities (the cost of which may send you to the grave sooner than expected) you may even be able to have the doctor changed if you feel so inclined, after all you are paying for it.  In contrast the perceptions of the state medical facilities are that you will never know when they are on strike, your child may not have a bed or even worse may have to share one with a child of a ‘less desirable’, the service is poor, long lines and waiting times, the place is smelly and not maintained, bathrooms – well that’s another story, no medicine, nurses and attendants couldn’t care less and doctors are marking time only to run off for their private practice.

But perceptions remain perceptions until you face reality.  However repulsive the initial thought might have been, when our son was diagnosed with dengue, there was no question in our minds on where we wanted to have him admitted.  It was going to be the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH).  The reason was simple enough; they were the best and most experienced to efficiently manage the disease.  In fact, when things go wrong in other hospitals, children are transferred here, not only for better management but for better remedial management as well.

The choice was clear, now it was to brace ourselves for the typical state run delays, lethargy, disorder, abruptness and inefficiency on all counts.  At admission, though, we were pleasantly surprised to find that our son was attended to immediately by a doctor and subsequently by another doctor who took down every conceivable, relevant piece of information in the most pleasant and courteous manner.  This was a refreshing change from most privately channelled doctors, who are generally in a great hurry to dismiss you with very little interest in what the patient has to say.  

During the admission process there was another child being discharged.  With all the formalities being concluded for the discharge, something unthinkable happened, the doctor asked the little child for a kiss and the child responded enthusiastically.  It was so nice to see such bonding and love by a doctor (whom you would normally consider to be stoic and aloof) attending on the children in her care, what was striking about this incident was that it wasn’t an isolated event, it was true for most doctors attending to children in this ward, they spoke kindly and immediately built up a rapport with the kids.

During our son’s stay in Ward 1 at the LRH (perhaps the foremost ward in paediatrics in the country), we found not only the doctors but even the nurses to be ably attentive to the children’s needs.  Every child is constantly monitored; doctors check on the children at regular intervals.  If you are assertive enough to question, they care enough to explain. It was always obvious; the foremost concern was the child, his symptoms, his prognosis, his well-being.

The discipline maintained in the Ward in other aspects was also commendable.  Rules and regulations were adhered to in order to keep the place clean and free of food smells and litter.  The wards and even the toilets were constantly swept and mopped.  Toilet facilities though basic were clean and void of noxious smells putting to rest many an anxious hallucination of having to face the unthinkable after literally bottling up for as long as it was physically possible without exploding.  What a relief.  The entire ward was well organised even with the limited resources available.  It was heartening to note that people from all strata of society automatically adhered to what was expected of them.  

Our son’s platelet count gradually dropped.  However, it was comforting that the staff didn’t panic, nor did they take anything for granted.  As one of the Professor’s themselves said, “in 24 hours many things could happen with dengue”, so they simply took all precautions and strictly monitored the child. Our son was then transferred to the High Dependency Unit (HDU) for even closer monitoring.  The HDU is on par with any ICU found in the best of the private hospitals, thanks to the philanthropy of Messer’s Arthur Senanayake and Hemaka Amarasuriya, who had it built and equipped in memory of the sons they lost to dengue.  Today so many children benefit from this generous donation underlined with love and concern for others.  Every hour our child was monitored by a doctor, from blood pressure to fever, with PCV counts taken every four hours, and platelet counts twice a day.

Whilst my son and I were at the HDU, a very sick boy was admitted late at night.  A nurse tried her level best to explain to a less literate mother the process of monitoring liquid intake and urine output, which appeared to be futile.  The nurse in exasperation finally volunteered to help out in the process. It was amazing to see the nurse willing to take on this added responsibility, on top of everything else that she had to do.  As if this wasn’t enough of a display of compassion, the nurse then went a step further to ask if the mother had had anything to eat that night and having found out that she hadn’t, went out of her way to find some food, despite it being way past hospital food distribution time.  I was both astounded and touched at not only this kind concern but wondering if I would ever witness such in a private hospital.

Seeing the many acts of care, concern and compassion in a state hospital was not only heart-warming, but also reassuring, that the state medical sector has so much to offer despite the political bungling of such services. One might argue that this was one ward, but the fact remains that if this one ward in one state hospital can serve people in this remarkable manner then why can’t all the others follow suit?  It is not impossible.  The example is already set.  The path is paved.

We also wish to encourage those who would not consider places such as LRH for their child’s well-being that this is perhaps the best place in the country to address your child’s needs (emphasis being the child), especially in the case of dengue.  Our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who work so hard with nothing more than a passion to serve the children in your care with no other expectation apart from experiencing the joy of seeing your patients healed and well.  Bravo and kudos to you!

Prasi Bandaranayake

A glimpse of my schooldays

 By Dr Nihal D Amerasekera

I wish to give the readers of this Blog a glimpse of my school life without making too much of a focus on the school itself as many of the readers were not from Wesley College. You may recognise the same emotions and the feelings of a certain time in our lives in a country that was at peace and we were smothered by the deep love and affection of our parents.

Well, doesn't time fly !!!! It was with a mixture of awe and pride that I passed through the gates of Wesley College for the first time in 1950. It seems like only yesterday that I was walking up the school driveway on that eventful first morning. The place was imposing to say the least. Those were glorious years I recall with pin sharp clarity. Now, here I am retired after an enormously satisfying 40 year career in Medicine. All those years have gone swiftly as the blink of an eye. There are a few advantages to getting old - still people tend to give you some respect. For us in the UK it is a free bus pass. The perks outnumber the downsides. But the main problem is that your body never allows you to forget the passage of years.

We had the iconic Welikada Prison just in front of our school. Built in 1841 in 98 acres it was a stark reminder of the big bad world outside. From the Biology corridor there was a lovely view of the front drive with a  steady stream of Morris Minor cabs, red Leyland buses and bullock carts. There was a rather lonely road just in front of the school gates leading away from Baseline road by the tall perimeter wall of the Prison. This went in the direction of Wanathamulla. Every morning the prisoners wearing white were taken along this narrow road by the Guards in Khaki shorts. Being so close to the prison for over a decade I had often let my mind wander about the life of those in jail. For many of us even now prison is almost an unknown place. Very few knew what happened behind the grim gates that swallowed the convicts. We imagined that its inhabitants were desperate people and dangerous criminals. In our minds the place was associated with isolation, humiliation and suffering which were all part of the punishment. Sometimes the sheer lack of privacy and at other times the loneliness of solitary confinement must be soul destroying. Time then is not a luxury but a burden to endure. A few had any contact with their families. I would hate to think of what food they received and the many who walked out how they faced the world again.

Much has changed in the world around us since those halcyon days. Good manners are on the decline. Many political leaders are cynical, careless and blinded to the realities of the outside world. To some there has been a moral decline. The digital revolution has taken over our lives.

When I was a kid, children had no rights at home and none at school. We were only to be seen and not heard. At Wesley, in my day, life was not a bed of roses. It was worst in the Primary school where there was an aura of fear that pervaded the classrooms and the corridors. Discipline was administered with an iron fist and the school rules were to be respected at all times and at any cost. This climate of fear eased as we moved into the middle school. In the sixth form we were treated as adults and given responsibilities as Prefects to uphold the rule of law and discipline. On looking back I cannot find fault with the manner in which discipline was administered and the school was run. Those who were in school with me have turned out to be useful and respected citizens of this world. The old boys form a cross section of society with its complement of saints, scholars and sinners. Whilst some became politicians, lawyers and doctors, a few may not have kept to the straight and narrow ending up in the iconic building in front.

I was at Wesley from 1950-62. They were very happy times indeed. Those who recognise me from the old days will note the changes due to the ravages of time. I owe so much to so many in the school, Students teachers and Principals. I have a myriad of memories of things that happened at school. They must have made a tremendous impression on my young mind. Some of these recollections are happy ones but a few are unpleasant, even painful. There were times I hated school. There was too much home work and too many rules and punishments. But somehow good times finally shone through.

It amazes me still how the school managed to balance the demands of high academic standards with the time demands of extra activities like sports, art, music and drama. We enjoyed much of it and for this we have to thank the skill of the teachers and the Principal.

We owe a great debt to our schoolmasters. One measure of a school is the way teachers and students interact. We remember with much gratitude the interest they took in our development and welfare. The teachers at school, what great characters some of them were! I hope they still are. My memory of them extend to their physical features, their anger, smile and even the smell. Some had tempers that would terrify even the boldest. What distinguished them all, large or small in stature was their apparent venerability. Even now after 60+ years it gives me a shock and a pang to read of the death of an old master. The teachers seem permanent and the majority stayed on until retirement. Although their salaries were probably just adequate, they had a loyalty to the school, and did not use a teaching post as an ambitious transient stepping stone to a bigger and a better paid teaching job elsewhere, as many young teachers do now. I often feel that many of our older teachers, some of them though eccentric, may turn in their graves at the disloyalty and opportunism of our modern teachers. For them, the joy of knowing of the success of their students was payment enough.

They were human. In one way or another difficult, egotistical, strong minded and demanding. They loved the school and their profession. They made good friends. I wouldn't want them as enemies. Having said this I have the greatest respect for many of them. I still feel guilty to this day for not going round the school from the primary school upwards to say goodbye to every teacher many of whom I never saw again.

The image I carry with me of the school is still the view of Wesley College I saw on my first day in January 1950. I was mesmerised by the elegant sweep of the majestic buildings. Now as I reflect it is impossible to forget its history and the sacrifice of those Methodist Missionaries who founded the school. The family of 1200 students and teachers have made me what I am today. Growing up in such surroundings was a privilege. What I learnt on and off the classrooms has helped me in my long and tortuous journey through life. Despite its ups and downs the school remains, at least in my thoughts, as one of the finest in the country.

In this fractured and troubled world, what we seek more than anything is a sense of belonging, a feeling that we are part of a community of like-minded souls. Despite this it is ironic how many of the rising generation of students after having received a fine education leave the school never to set foot on those hallowed grounds ever again. It amazes me that even those old boys who live in Sri Lanka and some of them living in Colombo have never been to the school premises as past students. In the endless whirr of 24/7 life of the 21st Century it is perhaps easy to forget our formative years. Some must have good reasons to do so. I am sure they can find in some corner of their hearts forgiveness and to realise no institution is perfect.

Meeting school friends brings great joy. When past students come together they move into recollection mode recalling those beautiful, quirky moments of their youth. There is never a dull moment. Voices will be imitated, mannerism mimicked, idiosyncrasies enhanced and long since dormant episodes of school life will suddenly spring to mind bringing hilarity, affection or even sadness. As the wine and conversation flows we get transported back many decades. There will be a glow and a shared warm feeling of times past. The last to leave often provide a lusty rendition of the old school song.

Saying goodbye to Wesley which was my home for over a decade was one of the hardest things I have had to do. I still think about it. Late at night and at quiet moments in the day, those memories make me proud of being part of that institution. Sometimes this deep sense of longing can be overwhelming. The friends I made have remained friends for life even though I never saw many of them again. We lived our lives in the Wesley Village in Karlsruhe Gardens. It is impossible to recreate that life again.

The bee-like buzzing of a thousand schoolboys that was ever present throughout my stay at school, went silent as I stepped on to Baseline Road for the last time in April 1962. And of course, I had left behind a part of myself at Wesley that was my home for so many years. Life was never the same ever again. As the sunset on my schooldays there was a new dawn of a career in medicine.

But I shall forever cherish my time at Wesley.

Creative Spot by Kumar Gunawardane

Kumar had written this three years ago while on a trip to Queenstown, New Zealand. It's about Lake Wakatipu.

I walk the winding rutted path,
By Lake Wakatipu,
The air is heavy scented with pine,
A gentle wind ruffles the emerald water,
Brooding woods hug the shore.
A clearing appears,
I sit on a wobbly rock,
Distant mountains loom,
Brushed with powdery snow,
Clustered tree tops speckled golden yellow,
Look,
Like streaks on a maiden's hair.
Time stands still,
I wish you were here.

Medical Negligence

By Sanath Lamabadusuriya

Recently there had been articles in the "Sunday Island" and daily "Island" newspapers by Carlo Fonseka and Susirith Mendis regarding this topic. I wish to relate a personal experience.

In the late seventies when I was on sabbatical leave, I started a locum consultancy at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, Lincolnshire. On the very first night, as the hospital lay workers were on strike, no food was available in the hospital canteen. An SHO very kindly invited me to their place for dinner. While having dinner, the SHO's bleep went off and he went to see a patient. He returned about 30 minutes later and continued with his dinner. He did not tell me what the call was about. Later around midnight, I was woken up by the SHO who wanted me to see a patient in the ward. It was an infant aged about 6 months who was having continuous seizures. This was the patient he had seen while we were having dinner. He told me that as he suspected meningitis, he had performed a lumbar puncture and given intrathecal Penicillin. When I inquired about the dose, I was shocked to hear that he had given 80,000 units intrathecally!  Fortunately for him, he had not made an entry in the notes about the dose. I told him straight away that it was a neurotoxic dose and asked him not to divulge anything to anyone. The patient had continuous seizures and died in the early hours of the morning. The CSF report was normal. A pathological post mortem was performed by the hospital pathologist and the probable cause of death was given as viral meningitis/encephalitis (obviously he was not aware about the intrathecal penicillin). If I had reported the matter, there would have been an inquiry and probably the SHO would have been struck off the GMC register.

Creative Spot by Mahendra (Speedy) Gonsalkorale

I celebrate life

Based on a poem by Magdalena Podobinska and played on Yamaha Tyros 5 by Mahendra. The music was composed by Mahendra and uses in-built facilities of the incomparable Tyros 5.

Air Taxi Sri Lanka, tourist destinations in Sri Lanka's popular cities

Sent in by Zita Perera Subasinghe.