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Ricardo Vega, Marquette Engineering Hall, 2025

A childhood diagnosis inspires a brother's engineering Ph.D.

An Engineering Scholars student finds career purpose after witnessing the impact doctors had on his brother, who survived a life-threatening illness

When Ricardo Vega was 11 years old, his younger brother Francisco was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, a potentially life-threatening illness that causes inflammation of blood vessels, particularly those that supply the heart. After many misdiagnoses, his parents finally got the answers and treatment they had prayed for from a doctor at Children's Wisconsin.

"The most memorable thing was the relief my parents had when a cardiologist said he knew exactly what the disease was," Vega says. "He had only seen it once before and it was amazing to see the level of compassion and care that this doctor had when treating my brother and how he was able to connect with my parents, despite not speaking the same language." 

Now a junior in college, Francisco's health is thriving. 

For Vega, the way the doctor cared for his baby brother and parents was a memory he couldn't shake. 

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