Operation Braveheart III continues to facilitate the repair of indigent patients' heart defects.  This is my SEVENTH report for Operation Braveheart III. I am sending with this email a collage of the seventh set of eight patients that Dr. Jonas repaired from January to February 2024. Seven of the eight patients are children, one is an adult. all 8 are PDA's.

 

The last four patients on this collage are all from Mindanao, the major southern island in the Philippines. Dr. Jonas was invited by the Amai Pakpak Medical Center (APMC) in Marawi, to perform transcatheter repair on seven patients. He flew to Marawi with Dr. Adrea Orel Valle, also a pediatric interventional cardiologist trained by Dr. Jonas. She is taking over the position of Dr. Jonas as head of the cardiac cath laboratory in the Philippine General Hospital. After serving in this position for 20 years, Dr. Jonas has been promoted to be the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiolgy. 

 

In addition to the most recent collage of patients, I am also attaching a pictorial on Dr. Jonas' trip to Marawi.

Quote from Dr. Jonas: "Out of 7, we were able to fix 4 kids with PDA. One child w PDA backed out because of illness. One child turned out to have an aortic valve disease which needed open heart surgery. Lastly, we had to abort the VSD closure because of recurrent arrhythmia during the procedure. This is my very first time to be in Marawi City in Lanao Del Sur (a predominantly Muslim community). The people were very hospitable and grateful for the help we offered."

 

Here is a little history on the APMC and Marawi - The former Lanao General Hosptal was renamed after 19th century military leader Amai Pakpak who is regarded as a hero by the Maranaos (indigenous tribe). On October 16, 2013, a fire ravaged the century-old hospital, but the hospital managed to resume operations. The hospital was again badly damaged following the Marawi crisis. On May 23, 2017, a group of radical elements led by the Maute brothers, who attained allegiance to ISIS, created havoc in the City of Marawi. One of the institutions they stormed was Amai Pakpak Medical Center. Men wearing black clothes shot and killed a police officer and two civilians. People were scared for their lives. Patients and watchers were horrified and everyone, including hospital staff and personnel, fled for safety. For 5 months, APMC was the silent witness of the death and destruction brought by the siege. The war took thousands of lives and annihilated buildings and houses and displaced families from their homes.