When Sanuthi and Sanumi Ranasinghe graduated from the University of Auckland on the same day, they had their brave mum Ayomi to thank for the achievement. Despite always knowing they wanted to study medicine, the 24-year-old sisters, who were born in the UK, chose to become surgeons because of their experience seeing Ayomi, 52, endure multiple operations over eight years,
after she was diagnosed with a recurrent illness.
“The surgeries definitely helped her and she received the best care from doctors in New Zealand,” says Sanumi.
“We’re very grateful to be in this country and for her to receive the support she did. This played a part in the career we chose because they looked after mum well.”
What they didn’t remember – until Ayomi presented it to them just before graduation at the end of last year – was writing the words “Surgeon Sanumi” and “Surgeon Sanuthi” in an old phone book in Sri Lanka, where they lived until they were 10 years old.
The twins emigrated to Auckland from Colombo with Ayomi and their dad Laksiri to make the most of better education and opportunities – something Ayomi missed out on as a child.
A mother’s sacrifice
“She grew up in a very strict household with a lot of restrictions and fear,” tells Sanumi.
“She had to quit her job very early on to raise us. There was this expectation for her to be a stay-at-home mum. She didn’t want that for us.”
Sanuthi adds, “She wanted us to be independent women and follow our dreams. We’re grateful to our mum and dad for making sacrifices to make this move and a new life.”
While coming to Aotearoa was initially a culture shock, the twins were grateful to have attended an international school in Sri Lanka, where they learned English.
“New Zealand’s culture is very diverse and everyone’s friendly, so it was very easy to meet people,” says Sanumi.
Strength through adversity
The move also gave Ayomi the chance to live out her dream of attending university, which she did as a mature student, graduating with a Bachelor of Nutrition, all while battling ill health.
“Watching how Mum navigated her illness really inspired me and Sanumi because Mum used her pain as a way to motivate herself,” explains Sanuthi.
“She showed us how strong she can be.”
The twins say they’ve also drawn strength from being together, including supporting each other through six years of medical school, and placements in Auckland, Waikato, Melbourne and London, where they both had the same supervisor.
A shared journey in surgery
Sanumi, who’s the older sister by two minutes, tells, “At Hammersmith Hospital, we were both assisting in the theatre during hepatobiliary surgery. I was on one side, helping with the suturing, and Sanuthi was on the other, helping with another suture. I looked up to see a reflection of myself doing the exact same thing. It’s probably something we’ll never get to experience or do again.”
Yet this year, the pair is separating, which they admit will be a big change. Sanumi will be working at Auckland Central and Sanuthi will be at North Shore Hospital.
“This year will help us to develop our different interests even further because, based on our experiences, we generally have the same hobbies and interests, so that’s probably why we both want to pursue surgery,” admits Sanumi.
Sisters, laughter and sweet creations
They also hope working in two different locations will be less confusing as people often mistake them for the same person. And because their names are also similar with only a two-letter difference, they often get each other’s emails or coffee orders.
However, when they’re not working in the hospital, the sisters plan on being back together, relaxing and spending weekends baking.
“We’ll pick something from MasterChef,” laughs Sanumi.
“We love making complex desserts, like a three-layer cheesecake with some ganache on top. Mum’s also recently started a baking business, so we definitely get the genes from her.”
