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Report: Hostage survivor's condition improving


Hostage survivor Jason Leung Song-xue's health condition is improving although he has to remain heavily-sedated because of the shattered bone fragments in his brain, a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP) said Thursday. Jason is one of the survivors of the August 23 hostage crisis in Manila. On that day, a dismissed police senior inspector, Rolando Mendoza, hijacked a bus carrying 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipinos. After an 11-hour standoff, Mendoza and eight Hong Kong tourists were killed, including Jason's father and two sisters. Jason's mother survived the attack. Dawson Fong To-sang, neurosurgery chief of the Tuen Mun Hospital, was quoted by the SCMP as saying that the swelling and the blockage of a major vein in Jason's brain have eased and pressure inside his skull have returned to normal since last week's operation. However, the hospital's consultant microbiologist, Que Tak-lun, said the 18-year-old has to continue receiving strong antibiotics for a considerable time to control and prevent infection from highly drug-resistant bacteria that was found in Jason's lungs on his return to Hong Kong from Manila last week. Jason's pneumonia and other infections are now under control, although he is still in an induced coma. Fong said the swelling and blockage in Jason's brain could have been caused by an earlier operation by Manila doctors. "The brain was swelling and veins were stuck between the bone and the material [gauze]," Fong said in the SCMP report. "I believe such a development was beyond the expectations and control of the surgeons [in Manila]. I don't regard the method the surgeons used as wrong, but the development was not in Jason's best interests." Fong said that four or five bone fragments from Jason's skull were deeply embedded in his brain. Fortunately, the fragments are not putting pressure on major arteries, and there are no signs of infection so far. "I won't say that they [the bone fragments] are troublesome, but they have some extended implications," Fong said. "We suspected they were metal, but after the first CT scan, we believed they were not. They are Jason's own bone fragments from his skull." Surgeons are not keen on removing the bone fragments because infection could develop or the arteries affected, leading to worse conditions. "If we carry out an operation to remove the bone fragments deeply embedded in the brain, the procedure would sever a lot of nerves," he said. "One may ask whether it is justified to take such a risk," he said, adding that there is no justification to risk more damage to his brain. The report said surgeons will create an opening in Jason's trachea in about two or three days to help him breathe and minimize damage to his vocal chords because of the breathing tubes. The SCMP report said that on Wednesday, Fong read out a public statement from Leung's mother, Amy Leung Ng Yau-woon, who expressed her gratitude to the community saying she didn't want people to grieve because of her tragedy. "Mrs. Leung wants everyone to stay strong and for life to return to normal. Her priority now is to take care of Jason. Deep in her heart, Mrs. Leung will always remember everyone's blessings and courage." Leung lost her husband Ken Leung, and two daughters Doris, 21, and Jessie, 14 in the hostage tragedy. The Leung family, who are dual Hong Kong-Canadian citizens, have become the emotional focal point of this southern Chinese territory following the hostage tragedy. (See: HK rallies around family torn by Manila hijacking) — with Carmela Lapeña/RSJ, VVP, GMANews.TV

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