James Randunna Corea was a friend and colleague, and I was privileged to know him. It is one year since his demise and I am personally aware that his family, relatives and friends have yet to recover from his death. His patients are lost without him.
I came to know more about Randy during the funeral, when his brother Uttum spoke of him. To be a doctor was a childhood dream, inspired by stories of a great-grandfather, Dr. John Attygalle, the first Ceylonese Colonial Surgeon. His interest in orthopaedics was fuelled by the skill of a surgeon who repaired his hand, fractured in a skirmish during a polo match. A skilled horseman, he took part in the Annual Gentleman Riders Race at the Queen’s Cup. He was an all-round sportsman at S. Thomas College Mount Lavinia.
Selected to the first batch at Peradeniya, he spent almost a year working as a clerk at the Central Bank till the Medical College began to function. Having served as an intern at the Kandy and Kalubowila Hospitals, he then left for the UK to further his studies. Returning as a Professor of Orthopaedics, he attempted to rejoin government service but was rejected, as was his subsequent attempt to join the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital.
Sri Lanka’s loss was Saudi Arabia’s gain.
He obtained a post at the King Fahd Teaching Hospital in Dammam, where he trained orthopaedic surgeons for that country.
Professor Lakshman Attygalle, who recently visited Saudi Arabia, said that Randunna was a highly respected, loved and almost revered figure in Saudi Arabia, for his contribution in in training surgeons for that country. His legacy lives on in Saudi Arabia. It was Randunna who set up the first Scoliosis Team at the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital. I recall him telling me that an article written by the parent of a Scoliosis patient in a Sinhala newspaper prompted him to write to the then President R. Premadasa, offering his services whenever he visited Sri Lanka. It was Mr. Premadasa who ordered the setting up of this unit.
Randunna loved his patients. When he first started his practice at his home in Colombo, patients would often settle their dues with fruit and vegetables. Later, he was advised to link up with reputed hospitals.
The son of Claire and Henri Corea, a well-known police officer of yesteryear, he never charged a fee from serving police officers or relatives of policemen. He was a consultant surgeon at the Police Hospital.
Randunna met Nalini during his internship in Kandy. She was a tower of strength to him when he was studying in the UK. Randunna and Nalini have three children, the twins Ranmali and Namali and Gemunu. A nationalist at heart, he wanted them to imbibe the culture of Sri Lanka and brought them back to Colombo for their education.
He is also survived by his sisters Ilona, Ranmalli and Aruni and his brothers Deva and Uttum.
A God-fearing man, he was the only person I knew who would go on his knees each night to pray. Time was not his own and meeting up with him was almost impossible, as he would be visiting friends, relations and patients who needed his attention in between his work and visits to his estate at Bingiriya.
He was a source of strength to all who knew him. He could raise you from the depths of despair with his infectious smile and his humour.
I remember a letter of appreciation sent by a grateful patient living overseas. A young boy who was once on the point of giving up on life is today doing well, thanks to a surgeon’s skill, care and love.
Randunna was a surgeon of international stature. He was ranked among the world’s best, and although we grieve at his loss we know he is in a better place with his Maker.
A friend |
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