Stroke Care at East Campus Medical Center Saves Father at Graduation

On an early morning in May 2026, Ben Francisco joined his family at San Diego State University to watch his daughter, Carla Francisco, receive her Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology. The family had much to celebrate. Ben had recently returned from an annual trip to the Philippines back to San Diego for the milestone occasion.

As the ceremony was about to begin, his wife, Margery Francisco, noticed something wasn't right.

"I looked at him and saw that he was holding his phone backwards and just staring blankly," said Margery. "I knew immediately something was wrong."

Their son quickly called 911. First responders rushed to Ben's side in the bleachers while thousands of graduates and guests filled the arena.

"Soon after, I went with him in the ambulance," Margery said. "We never got to see our daughter's graduation ceremony, let alone watch her walk across the stage."

Paramedics transported Ben to East Campus Medical Center at UC San Diego Health, the closest hospital equipped to provide the specialized care he urgently needed.

For Carla, the emotional impact did not hit until after she graduated.

"I kept looking up into the bleachers and at first they were there, and then suddenly they weren't," she said. "After the ceremony, my brother finally told me, 'Mom and dad are at the hospital, and dad is in surgery right now.' I was shocked."

Still wearing her cap and gown, Carla rushed to the emergency department.

"Everyone in the hospital was congratulating me, and I would thank them, but I was still in disbelief of the entire situation," she said.

Clinicians quickly determined that Ben, who has a history of atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common irregular heart rhythm disorder, was experiencing a severe stroke caused by a large blood clot blocking blood flow to his brain. AFib increases a person's risk of stroke by about five times and is associated with roughly one in seven strokes.

After UC San Diego Health acquired the former Alvarado Hospital, leaders invested heavily in building advanced brain and spine services, including expert physicians, novel surgical microscopes, surgical robotics and the infrastructure needed to provide comprehensive care closer to patients in East and South San Diego County.

"UC San Diego Health is raising the standard for all patients in the county," said Arvin Wali, MD, neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health and assistant professor of neurological surgery at University of California San Diego School of Medicine. "In stroke and neurosurgical emergencies, minutes can define the course of a lifetime for a patient. We are building a destination neurosurgical site for East San Diego so that geography is never a barrier to critical care and so that when a patient faces a crisis, world-class care is available and ready to serve."

For Ben, that extended access proved lifesaving.

J. Scott Pannell, MD, director of neurointerventional surgery at UC San Diego Health, and professor of neurological surgery and radiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, led the stroke team that performed an emergency thrombectomy, removing the clot and restoring blood flow to Ben's brain.

The procedure marked the first thrombectomy performed at East Campus Medical Center, a milestone that highlights the vast expansion of advanced services at the hospital. The achievement comes as the medical center continues to strengthen its stroke program and recently earned the American Heart Association's 2026 Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Quality Achievement Award with Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll recognition.

"Stroke care is incredibly time-sensitive," said Pannell. "Having comprehensive stroke services available close to where people live, work, and go to school allowed us to intervene quickly and provide Ben with the highly specialized treatment he needed. We're grateful those resources were available when he needed them most."

The case was among the rising number of advanced stroke interventions now being performed through growing brain and spine programs at UC San Diego Health.

For Carla, some of the hardest moments came at his bedside.

"For several days it felt like he was looking right through me," she said. "He recognized my mom and brother, but not me. I would say hello and he wouldn't respond. I was told by the nurses that during the night, he would say my name. Although it took a while, I was relieved when he finally recognized me."

Today, Ben continues weekly rehabilitation and has made great progress.

"His neurologist was surprised by how well he's recovered," Carla said. "He's walking, he's independent and he's back to being himself."

Margery, a local intensive care unit nurse, understands better than most how important rapid stroke care can be.

"Thank God these services were available when they were," she said. "We are so thankful for Dr. Pannell and everyone who took care of him. The care, the timing, everything came together exactly when we needed it."

The experience also left the family reflecting on how different the outcome might have been elsewhere.

"One thing my family kept saying was, 'Thank God this happened here in the United States,'" Carla said. "If it had happened while he was in the Philippines, it could have taken hours to get proper care. If it had happened at home, he would have been alone in his bedroom, and no one would have known he was having a stroke. Thankfully, we were all together at the graduation and there was a hospital nearby where he received immediate care."

For Ben, the ordeal has given him a new appreciation for life.

"I'm a lucky man," he said. "I'm lucky to be here. I'm living on borrowed time."

Increasing Access to Advanced Care

As UC San Diego Health continues to grow its neurological and stroke programs across the region, East Campus Medical Center has become a vital third destination alongside the health system's other major campuses in La Jolla and Hillcrest.

The investment is already making a difference, allowing more patients to receive timely, specialized neurosurgical and stroke treatment when every second counts.

That commitment to delivering exceptional patient care is reflected in national recognition. In the 2026-2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings, UC San Diego Health was recognized among the nation's leading hospitals, with its neurology and neurosurgery program ranked No. 24 in the country, highlighting the world-class expertise available to patients across the region.