Sarah Sabaratnam pay tribute to late staff nurse Kamala Devi Arumugam, whose dedication to her profession and family makes her an individual to emulate.

In Happier Times... Kamala with her granddaughter two Christmases ago

When staff nurse Kamala Devi Arumugam, 63, died last Saturday, she left more than just memories for those who grieved for her.

This woman lived life in such a way that she left behind a legacy.

All who have crossed her path had much to learn and emulate.

For one, Kamala was a woman who never betrayed her moods.

Her daughter Vinodini, 26, says she has no recollection of her mother being angry.

This was no mean feat for someone who was a "workaholic" at her full-time job and yet managed to spend enough time with her husband and children.

"She taught u never to hold any ill feelings against anyone, and to be happy," says Vinodini.

Kamala was born in Taiping in 1937 and grew into a young woman who wanted to pursue a career in nursing.

She left Taiping Convent in 1956 after her Form Five to pursue a nursing course at the Mandalay Road Hospital.

Two years later, she joined Singapore General Hospital as a staff nurse.

In 1962, she returned to Kuala Lumpur to work at the Lady Templer Hospital. Four years later she was promoted to nursing sister.

When Lady Templer Hospital closed down in 1985, Kamala went back to Singapore to work at the Gleneagles Hospital where she was to remain for another five years as a staff nurse.

In 1990, when the hospital asked her to renew her contract for another four years, she decided it was time to return to Malaysia. She joined City Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur as a staff nurse.

While there, she won four CMC Nurse of the Year Awards - from 1994 to 1997.

The award is presented yearly by the medical center, to recognize the nursing staff for outstanding work attitude, quality care and customer service.

Finally in 1999, she joined Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's (HUKM) medical ward and later the hospital's oncology ward.

It was here that she was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

She'd been a nurse for 43 years - one who was dedicated, and self sacrificing and all that a nurse should be.

Her husband Steve Sivagnana Sundaram, 61, thought the world of her.

"I think she's excellent. She goes to work early and comes back late. She's very dedicated and concerned. She makes sure everything is done before she comes home. Every doctor and matron that she has worked with has said, " Kamala is the best staff nurse we have worked with'."

A letter of recommendation from a surgeon whom she worked under at the Lady Templer Hospital, reads, ".I have found her most efficient, competent, conscientious and diligent. She also possesses a very pleasant disposition, making her popular among the doctors and her nursing staff."

Although she was a workaholic, her daughter says she had no problems managing home and work.

" I don't know how she did it but although she worked, she would cook and spend time with us as well."

Kamala was diagnosed with an incurable primary brain tumour more than a month ago and doctors gave her a few weeks to live. It was a relatively rare cancer that couldn't be removed, according to HUKM clinical oncologist Fuad Ismail, who attended to her after she was admitted there.

A week before she died Kamala was taken home to be with her family.

Note : Steve Sivagnana Sundaram and family would like to thank Makna (National Cancer Council) and the medical staff of HUKM's oncology ward for their special attention to Kamala while she was under their care.

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