New beginning for Samanmalee

Priyanka KURUGALA

Samitha Samanmalee, paralysed in a mishap at the BMICH said one of her greatest ambitions is to become a doctor and she has taken her first step towards achieving this dream by being appointed as an intern doctor.

"I had to undergo a severe ordeal and overcome numerous odds and difficulties on the way to realising this ambition. My perseverance finally paid off," Samanmalee told the Daily News shortly after receiving her appointment as an intern at the National Hospital.

She was paralysed below the waist when a structure at the BMICH collapsed on her on February 2008.

She thanked her family members and friends for the compassion and moral support extended to her during the time of her distress. Samanmalee said rehabilitation programmes for disabled victims in Sri Lanka is not very advanced. She therefore said she wishes to dedicate her life to overcome the many shortcomings in this field as much as possible. Samannalee said she is going to dedicate her career to the treatment of victims of spinal cord injuries and hopes to specialise in this field.

She admitted that her period of internship would be strenuous . "I now have another challenge before me. Nobody can escape from the period of internship. We have to complete it with dedication," she said. "I was able to select the National Hospital to complete my internship. I wish to complete this period successfully and to the best of my ability under the circumstances," Samanmalee said. "I met with this accident in 2008. I received support from many quarters." She gratefully recalled the support extended to her by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa. "Many businessmen too helped me. Media institutions and artistes too helped me with funds". All this made her overcome her distress to a great extent and help raise her spirits. Samanmalee received her primary education at Makuluduwa Junior School. She entered Gothami Balika Maha Vidyala in Colombo after passing the grade five scholarship. It was while she was studying as a third year medical student at the University of Colombo that the mishap occurred.