HEART ATTACK DURING A TELEPHONE CALL

A Father of a girl had succumbed to death following a heart attack on hearing the daughter’s good performance at the scholarship examination:

In Sri Lanka at present the Advanced Level and Scholarship examination results are not certain and have not won the confidence of both students as well as the parents. However while in such an environment a father of a girl student stationed outside home had telephoned his home to find out his daughter had faired at the recent scholarship examination. Over the phone the daughter had conveyed to her father that she had faired very well. Unable to resist his happiness he has had a heart attack collapsed and died.
From this particular incident it reveal how much the parents are interested in their education and more particularly about their examinations. Amidst this enthusiasm the authorities of the Department are making many blunders which affect the future of the student’s future. What the daughter of the deceased had to say was.... 

”After I arrived at home after sitting for the scholarship examination my father called me and asked how I faired at the examination and whether I performed well. I told him that I performed very well. I told I will get high marks which would bring pride to my school as well as to you .I hope you will buy me the laptop you promised to buy and give me. As he told me that he will buy me a laptop as promised, He stopped talking. I thought it may have been a telephone failure.”
The father is Chaminda Sri Lal de Silva 39 years old and is a resident of Pitigala, Heenketiya area and the daughter, Udeshi Nethmini is 10 years old. Nethmini went further to tell:

“After a few moments a friend of my father had telephoned my mother and told that my father had suffered a heart attack and had been admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo. It was later confirmed that he had passed away. Just three days before the exam he came home and brought a lot of luxury food items to me and my younger brother. He took us to the temple and did a ‘bodhi pooja’. He even got the Buddhist monk to chant pith to bless me for the exam and the monk tied a ‘pirith thread’ on my hand. Before leaving home for duty he kissed me and wished me all the best of luck to get through the exam with very high marks. When my father’s corpse was brought home I just could not bear it. I am confident that I will pass with high marks. But without my father how could I celebrate”.
Nethmini’s mother Mrs B.G.Siriyawathie (39) explained the story in this manner:

“My husband worked for over 10 years at the Sri Lanka Navy. After which he worked for several reputed politicians as their personal body guards. After that he got an appointment to work in a reputed security firm in Borella as a security officer. On the day of the incident he had phoned around 1.30 p.m to inquire how the daughter, Nethmini had fared in the scholarship examination. It was a little later a friend from his security firm had telephoned and informed that he had suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the National Hospital. Immediately I rushed to the National Hospital Colombo with my brother. Even by then by beloved husband had passed away. He was very attached to me and the family? He calls every day in the morning and evening to find out how we were keeping. He was a complete teetotaller and also a vegetarian. He underwent a very pious life. He pinned a lot of hopes on Nethmini’s education, and more particularly about her scholarship examination.
Nethmini daughter was a very bright student in the class. She was always first in class and in the preliminary scholarship examination she scored the highest total marks obtaining between 190- 195 marks. The class teacher one Mr Siriwardena also was keeping high hopes on her. But to see her talents and achievements the most important person, my husband is now not among the living.”