LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) — 10 years ago, 10News introduced viewers to Josue Ramos, a Carlsbad teenager who missed his high school graduation because he needed emergency surgery for a brain tumor. That experience had a lasting impact on him.
Like every other High School Grad, Josue Ramos looked forward to the day he could walk with his class to accept his diploma. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Before his graduation, Doctors discovered Josue had a brain tumor and he needed emergency surgery, keeping him from celebrating with his classmates.
Instead, with the support of his family, friends, and care team at Scripps La Jolla, he celebrated in the hospital support that left a lasting impact on him.
Ramos says, “It means a lot that people came out .. and it really showed their Love for me.”
After being bed bound for months, having to relearn how to do things like walking. Josue was determined he wasn’t just going to make a full recovery, he was also going to use his experience to help others.
He says, “You get helped out by so many different people touch your life and stuff.”
Josue knew he wanted to do something in the medical field, and went to school to become a respiratory therapist.
He graduated and worked at different hospitals in San Diego.
But then he got the opportunity to return to Scripps La Jolla, a place he knew all too well, having been a patient in this very hospital.
He adds, “At some point, you just have to tear the bandaid and figure it out emotionally.”
And while he kept this homecoming of sorts quiet, it was a conversation with his co-worker Edelisa that sparked a revisit of his emotional journey.
She says, “This isn’t something that you just tell your co-workers at 2 in the morning. This is a story that has come full circle.”
And now when Josue walks into each hospital room. He brings with him the lessons he’s learned as he’s made his transition from a former patient to a health care provider.
He says, “ I feel great. I feel like I did what I wanted to do and I came back to the place that helped me out. Doing what I wanted to do which is to help as many people because I made a vow at 18 years old.”
