At around 6:25am on the 31st of March 2020, my father Dr. Leandro L. Resurreccion III, Pediatric Transpant Surgeon, passed away due to Acute Respiratory Failure brought about by Covid-19.
There were no hugs, there were no kisses, and there were no goodbyes. As a matter of fact, the last time I saw him, he was still able to smile. It gives you a kind of heartbreak that I cannot even explain.
When I was 13 years old, he was certified as a Pediatric Transplant Surgeon in the Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia. He was offered to stay there but he chose to come home because at that time there were no Pediatric Transplant Surgeons in the country. And we needed one. He did not do it for money nor for prestige, but because he was needed. He always embodied a kind of fiery passion for his profession but he always spoke of what the country needed together with such passion.
And I choose to remember him like this. Not only as a statistic in the current war we are fighting. Not only as a surgeon who pioneered for the nation. Not only as a father for his family. But as a Citizen of The World who cared for it and fought for it. He will always be our hero.
I thank God for the 57 years you gave him. I thank the country for giving him a home for those 57 years. I thank my family for being there for us during this battle. I thank my dad’s girlfriend, Tita Cheryl Singzon, for without you, we would feel forever alone. I thank my Brods in the Aquila Legis for all the support in this battle we hurdle. I thank my family’s friends for everything. I thank my dad’s friends, his batch mates, his kabarkadas, his colleagues, the Pediatric Surgery community, his PGH Family, for all the support and, most importantly, the words that helped us go through this uphill battle. Though we may lose, we’ll never bend.
Last, and most definitely not the least, I thank Dr. Es Saguil, Dr. Alvin Caballes, Dr. Benedicto, Dr. Villalobos, Dr. Albay, Dr. Roni Paclibar, and all the doctors, nurses, staff who attended my dad. I kid you not, you guys feel like family to us and without you, we would not have had a fighting chance. I also thank all the front liners. May God bless you all.
I hope I am not looked down for this, but I appeal to the National Government. Your efforts this lockdown have been commendable because I have seen firsthand how the battle against Covid 19 has been fought on with full force but I appeal that we may have a more coherent plan in order to test everyone and isolate. Let us break the chain.
Lastly, I appeal to each and every person to please, please, please stay at home, unless it is absolutely necessary. Let us not only protect our loved ones, but also our frontliners in this fight against this ravaging enemy. If we lose those who protect us, who else will?
Rest In Peace, Dad. I love you forever.
You will always be my hero.
Dr. Leandro L. Resurreccion III
(August 17, 1962 - March 31, 2020)
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