First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, veteran of a near-miraculous heart surgery, is paying for his reward of a second life by telling the world, beginning with his countrymen, that Filipino doctors are exceptional. The word is awesome.

Dr. Avelino Aventura Jr., 41, an alumnus of UST and son of his famous namesake father, is one of them. The son also rises, and rises, having performed two rare operations successfully in one year, so rare that there are only 40 such cases in the last 20 years in the University of California San Diego, where he trained.

The procedure involves removing a tumor in the heart, clots in the lungs, and a “tremendous amount of reconstruction.” The condition is probably rare because it’s so hard to call it by its name: pulmonary thromboendarterectomy.

A 10-hour operation, it does not require any special equipment but only a very special kind of doctor, and something like the equivalent of $180,000 if the patient can afford it.

At our Heart Center where love moves mountains, Dr. Jun Aventura did both operations for free. Awesome.