PM Manning: No such thing as minor surgery

THE DEATH of Dawn Dolly, former Clerk of the Senate, underscores the fact that there is no such thing as minor surgery, or a simple medical procedure, Prime Minister Patrick Manning noted yesterday. As he paid tribute to the former Clerk of the Senate, Manning who has had surgery at least on three different occasions, said: “Whenever people are exposed to medical procedures there are great risks associated with it as I am in a position to attest.” Dolly, who died after undergoing a mymectomy (surgery for the removal of fibroid) at the St Clair Medical Centre on Tuesday, was 44 years old. Manning said death was bad enough when a person had lived a full life and completed his contribution. It was extremely tragic and particularly sad that Dolly died in the prime of her life. “May she find solace in the arms of the holy Father,” he said. House Speaker Barendra Sinanan said it was a profound tragedy that a young woman with such devout respect for the sanctity of life, who took great care with her own life, died under such unfortunate circumstances.

Sinanan said he shared a close working relationship with Dolly and there were many sides to her - a loving daughter and sister, a devoted friend to many and a dedicated servant to the Parliament. “Those of us who shared many hours with her each day in this building, had the privilege of seeing all those sides of her and thus we could not help but admire, appreciate and respect the person that she was,” he said. He said it was Dolly who insisted that the staff eat properly for their own personal well-being. She also insisted on professional dress, reminding the staff that they worked “in a Parliament, not a parlour”, he said. “She was quite a boss . . . never compromising on what she thought was good and right,” he said. Leader of Government Business Ken Valley, who met Dolly in 1987 when he first entered the Parliament, stated that from the onset he appreciated her efficiency. “Who would have thought that this fine human being in her prime of life, committed to taking care of self, dedicated to family and friends, would have been snatched away in the blink of an eye, cut away in the prime of her life?” he said.

“It really makes you wonder what is life all about. Is life really like the cocoon that the caterpillar has to pass through on its way to becoming a beautiful butterfly?” Valley said perhaps the most pressing message was: “To live as God would have us. “Let us reflect on the professionalism with which Dawn treated all of us, having no favourites . . . respecting all but fearing no one. Dawn Dolly may you respect in peace.” UNC Adesh Nanan, said Dolly, who had a BA in Public Administration and Law and an LLB, worked hard at success. Nanan said her remembered Dolly at House Committee meetings as someone who was always capable of finding solutions and was up-to-date with all the detailed material required. “Her smile was radiant, her enthusiasm infectious and her joy contagious. She was the sparkle of the Parliament,” he said, adding that her influence, love, knowledge, enthusiasm and compassion will continue to have an impact on all those she touched. As tributes were paid Clerk of the House, Jacqui Sampson who entered the public service on the same day with Dolly and shared a very close relationship with her, looked grief-stricken and distraught as she sat in the chair used by the Clerks of the House and the Senate when Parliament is in session. As Sinanan asked the House to observe a minute silence, he revealed that tributes and condolences were received from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and a number of other Parliaments within the Commonwealth.