My name is Jovy Lyn Amestoso Lambert and this is for my beloved brother in the Philippines, Jerwin Amestoso. Jerwin is 45 years young, loving husband to his wife Aileen, and devoted and loving father to their two children: Jerlyn Mae, their wonderful 20-year-old daughter and Jan Raven, their 13-year-old loving son. Mae is a third-year university student studying criminology and Raven is a seventh-grade student who has a love of martial arts. Both are devoted and caring children who love their parents very much, who cherish their daddy, and who are both very fearful of losing him.

My husband and I were visiting family in the Philippines in August after not having seen my siblings for 6 years, and very late on a Thursday night, Jerwin told us he was experiencing some kind of cardiac episode. His heart had been racing in his chest for some time, he felt dizzy, faint, and wasn’t sure if he was dying. We piled in the car and rushed Jerwin to the emergency room, a 30-minute drive from our home. As he lay there…looking pale and purplish in color…we anxiously awaited an update. The doctors somewhat stabilized Jerwin and what followed was a week in the ICU and hospital. When Jerwin was released, it was with a cadre of new prescriptions and the heart-breaking news of a diagnosis that included cerebral hemorrhage and evidence of prior strokes. But the worst was yet to come.

Over the succeeding weeks, Jerwin continued to experience severe headaches, dizziness, weakness, face drooping, slurred speech, and unfortunately one additional stroke that we know of. There were more tests, including a Head (MRA) with Contrast at Nueva Ecija Good Samaritan Hospital in our hometown of Cabanatuan City and a Cerebral Angiogram at The Heart Institute, Chinese General Hospital & Medical Center in Caloocan City in Metro Manila. The findings of these tests have been nothing less than crushing, as we learned that our strong, loving, and good-hearted brother has been diagnosed with the very rare Moyamoya disease.

As described by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Moyamoya disease is a rare, progressive cerebrovascular disorder caused by blocked arteries at the base of the brain in an area called the basal ganglia. Moyamoya means “puff of smoke” in Japanese and is used to describe the tangled appearance of tiny vessels compensating for the blockage. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/moyamoya-disease

Moyamoya disease is a very rare, progressive, and debilitating condition that affects 1 in a million. Without surgery, those with the disease will experience mental decline and multiple strokes due to progressive narrowing of the arteries. The disease often ultimately kills its victims because of bleeding in the brain.

After searching, researching, and multiple doctors’ visits, we found no treatment options in the Philippines that offered hope. The doctors seemed to be telling Jerwin that there was nothing they could do to fix his problem. We became frustrated and desperate for some solution and reached out by email to Dr. Gary Steinberg, the Director of the Stanford Moyamoya Center, last Friday, and asked if he knew of any surgeons in the Philippines or the nearby countries that had expertise in treating Moyamoya disease. We even sent the Head (MRA) and Cerebral Angiogram reports. We were very happily surprised when, to my amazement, we received a very fast reply. Unfortunately, Dr. Steinberg didn’t know of any surgeons in the region to refer us to. But what was exciting were his comments on Jerwin’s case based on his reading of the reports, and his offer to treat Jerwin if he could be here in California! We weren’t even thinking about this because it seems impossible to accomplish. After another email exchange on Saturday, Dr. Steinberg put us in contact with Stanford’s International Medical Services department and we received their email that day.

I desperately want my brother to have a second chance to live his life to the fullest. His family needs him, and it seems he has no long-term hope without this miraculous corrective surgery. We have started working on how to get a medical visa for Jerwin so that he can travel to California for treatment. Jerwin has no medical insurance in the Philippines or here in the U.S. From our research thus far, aside from the visa and traveling expenses, should Jerwin have surgery at Stanford, medical expenses very likely will get into six figures. This all seems so insurmountable…but with determination, strong will, and the power of prayer, with God’s blessings we hope to get it done.

We will be providing regular updates on Jerwin’s progress. Your kind assistance in any way is gratefully appreciated.