President Mahinda Rajapaksa, like a good sport, fist bumped the quadriplegic doctor, gangster-like, an act of empathy Palipana appreciates to this day. He is a founding member of Doctors with Disabilities Australia, an advocacy group for physicians with disabilities and the ambassador for Physical Disability Australia. Not only physical disability, Palipana knows only too well how debilitating mental health disorders are as well. Despite a life-changing disability, Palipana decided to go back to medical school. Palipana explained that people with disabilities, depending on the disability, can be at high risk of increased complications due to COVID-19.

Source: The Nation November 30, 2020 00:00 UTC