Patient Stories
Real encounters from family practice.
"Doctor, Is Something Seriously Wrong With Me?" Understanding Vitamin D Deficiency
A worried 27-year-old arrives clutching a lab report. Why vitamin D deficiency is surprisingly common in sunny Sri Lanka, what the numbers mean, and how it's treated.
Living Healthy After a Heart Stent: What You Need to Know
After a teacher's sudden angioplasty, a practical guide to life with a stent: medication discipline, cardiac rehabilitation, heart-smart eating, and the warning signs that need urgent care.
More Than a Common Cold: Health Advice for Newly Married Couples
What starts as a simple clinic visit for a cold becomes a wider conversation about the health checks, vaccinations, and habits every newly married couple should consider.
When Pain Isn't Just Physical: How Depression Can Hide in Plain Sight
Depression rarely announces itself. It hides behind body aches, tiredness, and poor sleep — and is missed by patients and doctors alike. How to recognise the disguise.
A Bite, A Lesson: Why Rabies Still Matters in Sri Lanka
A young engineering student's dog bite becomes a lesson in why rabies remains a real threat in Sri Lanka — and what everyone should know about post-exposure treatment.
A Costly Prescription: A Doctor's Dilemma in a Broken System
When the hardest part of treatment isn't the disease but affording the cure: a general practice encounter that exposes the hidden financial burden behind every prescription.
Silent Burdens and the Power of Listening
An elderly patient arrives carrying something heavier than any diagnosis. On the healing that begins when a doctor puts down the prescription pad and simply listens.
Chickenpox Before a Wedding: A Family Doctor's Reflection on Varicella, Vaccines, and Shingles
A groom falls ill with chickenpox one week before his wedding. A family doctor answers the questions that followed — adult varicella, vaccination after exposure, isolation, and shingles.
Prof. Kolitha Harischandra Sellahewa: Clinician, Teacher, Leader, and Humanist
A tribute to a mentor whose uncompromising standards at the bedside were matched by deep humanity — and what his example still teaches a generation of Sri Lankan doctors.