MANILA, Philippines — The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has claimed the life of yet another doctor.
Dr. Leandro Resurreccion III, a pediatric transplant surgeon, passed away on Tuesday, March 31, due to acute respiratory failure caused by COVID-19. He was 57 and a father of four.
He died in the intensive care unit of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) after battling the disease for three weeks, Resurreccion’s daughter, Pia, said.
“It is with our deepest sorrows to say that he has lost the battle,” Pia wrote in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, his son, Leandro Castillo Resurreccion IV, mourns for the loss of his “hero.”
“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,” he wrote in a separate Facebook post.
“And I choose to remember him like this… as a Citizen of The World who cared for it and fought for it. He will always be our hero,” he added.
Leandro Castillo Resurreccion IV also appealed to the government to have a “more coherent plan” in its fight against COVID-19.
He also urged the public to stay at home unless 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?” he said.
The Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) also mourned for the loss of “a great surgeon, teacher, academician and friend to all.”
In a separate statement, PCMC said Resurreccion is its “first fallen soldier in the battle vs COVID-19.”
“He was well known locally and abroad as forward looking in his vision for pediatric surgery especially in Liver Transplants which he was working to the end. Always smiling, friendly and very “cool”, he will be missed,” the hospital said.