“Kaiser Permanente saved my life,” says stroke survivor

Well-known Bay Area radio sportscaster Ken Dito is fully recovered from a significant stroke thanks to the high-quality care he received at Kaiser Permanente.

“The doctors and nurses there saved my life. Now I’m even back to playing golf,” says Dito, 85, of Daly City.

But last April. 2022 , Dito could only remember getting out of his car at a local golf club and passing out near the entrance. Fortunately, there were people nearby who were able to call an ambulance that rushed Dito to the Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center.

Doctors quickly diagnosed Dito using Kaiser Permanente’s Stroke EXPRESS protocol, where a stroke patient is diagnosed by a virtual neurologist and, if necessary, quickly given life-saving medication to improve the chance of survival and minimize permanent disability.

After Dito received the clot-dissolving medication, known as TNKase (tenectaplase), he was rushed to the Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center, which is an accredited Comprehensive Stroke Center, so he could receive a higher-level of care.

“It was a significant stroke. He was completely unable to speak and totally paralyzed in the right arm and leg,” said Sean Cullen, MD, a neurointerventional radiologist at Kaiser Permanente Redwood City. “He not only had a blood clot in the brain, but also a clot blocking the neck’s carotid artery that leads to the brain.”

Cullen and his team were able to surgically remove both clots and restore blood flow to Dito’s brain in a surgical procedure that lasted 14 minutes. Less than an hour after the surgery ended, Cullen visited Dito in his hospital room.

“He was awake, oriented, and speaking normally,” said Cullen. “I think he was very lucky to be diagnosed quickly and sent here.”

Dito was grateful for the care he received: . “The speed and precision of the staff at Kaiser Permanente rates an A+ in my eyes.”