Gerry and the ‘goo’ (shit), on the toilet cover

It was one of my regular operating session days, in the operating theatre ‘B’ at the NHSL, Colombo. OTB had two operating suits. I used one side. Our batch mate Geri Jayasekara used the other side. I arrived at about 7.45 am at the surgeons changing room, to see that Geri was already there. He took me straight away to the toilet entrance and showed me the top of the commode saying, ‘Machan see what they have done’. The commode had its black plastic top cover down and on the top of this plastic cover was a well formed spiral of brownish- yellow ‘goo’ or shit, as it is called in English. My mind went racing and I thought that a member of the minor staff working in the theatre, must have done it. I called the Sister in charge of the theater, to show her this. Geri then restrained me. He put his hand on the ‘goo’, folded it and put it in a black bag in his other hand. Only then did it dawn on me, that Geri had fooled me with a coil of ‘imitation shit’ made out of plastic. It looked so real. I burst out laughing. Geri had picked this piece of item, from one of his foreign trips, and had thought fit to pull quite a few of our legs that day.

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Terrence Rohan Chinniah When I was the House officer to Prof Geri both of you are occupying OT A.on either sides. And one day Prof Geri was operating on a huge thyroid and blood started gushing and Geri couldnt find the bleeder. Being a JW he started panicking and told me "go and get Philip from otherside. Ask him to come over asap. He is the only person who can arrest this bleeding". Memories of good old days

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  Philip G Veerasingam Terrence, This was the way we helped each other out, in the theater. Recalling an incident recalled by Dr. Mark Amerasinghe, my Boss, he was on the operating table as a patient, during his medical student days in the 1950s, being explored by Prof MVP Pieris, for a lump in the RIF. Dr Amerasinghe was being operated under spinal anaesthesia. Prof. MVP had a way of commenting on the progress of his surgery. After opening the abdoman, MVP was saying 'I have the lump, it is smooth and mobile' when Prof Nicholas Attygalle who was operating in the other operating suite appeared. Mark overheard him say ' Peter, is it not the kidney?' Immediately Mark felt MVPs hand going up, under the right lobe of the liver, and since the right kidney was missing in its usual place, the diagnosis of a floating kidney was made. The laparotomy wound was closed. Helping each other was and is a noble tradition in our profession, for ages,and will always be welcome.

• Dinakantha Kumararatne I was one of the first house officers for Geri, when he was appointed a senior lecturer/consultant. The y did not have a registrar in the professorial unit in 1972. The first person to do the ward round was Prof Navaratne. then came Sherrifdeen, who change the patient management. then came the next young turk, Geri, who change management again.I quickly learnt to go to the ward before any of them and I would lead each consultant to his own patient avoiding chaos and keeping the piece. I thought Nava did not know, but when he wrote a reference for me for a commonwealth fellowship, he added the sentence "that DSK, contributed to the smooth running of the Surgical unit." I was only in my first house job.

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  Dinakantha Kumararatne I loved to assist Geri, at the casualty list at night. dealing with an old man with a paraphimosis he kept us amused and in good spirits at 3am by reciting"my roaming days are over, my itch has petered out. what was once my sex appeal is just a water spout.

Benitta Stephen Good memoirs to write and laugh about ..ageless . Gerry was one year senior and acted in all block night playlets. “Profumo and Christine Keeler Saga & he was CK and kept us laughing nonstop with his apt juicy jokes.