Sadly, we lost Robin yesterday evening. His lungs were just too badly compromised by the infection and refused to take in the precious oxygen that he needed. Oddly, the operation to move the VAD went well, but despite heroic efforts on the part of his medical team, he left us. He will be sorely missed by many people. Below you will find his obituary and pertinent information for his service:

Robin Wong

Robin Wong, a man of principle and generosity, passed away May 1, 2007 as a result of complications following a heart attack. He will be remembered by all who knew him for his quirky humor and passionate advocacy. A member of the Berkley Hillside Club, he served for 5 years on its board as treasurer and was also chairman of the club’s dance assembly. He loved to dance and travel and managed to find an Argentine tango almost everywhere he went. He was a tireless worker who took all responsibilities with the utmost seriousness. He will be sadly missed by his co-workers at Partition Specialties, where he served as CFO for the last 18 years, as well as his many dance and travel companions at the Hillside and Vicente Clubs.

Robin will be remembered for his love of Paris and eclectic tastes in music, his passion for tango and travel, his love of food and avid recycling habits, his thoughtfulness and kindness, but most of all for his fierce loyalty to family and friends.

He is survived by his loving wife Barbara, his two sons, Darren and Corey, his sister Kitty, her husband Arthur Okamura, his niece Stephanie, her husband David Coupe and their two children, William and Lindsay.

Services will be held at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611 on Sunday, May 6, 2007 at 11:00 am and will be followed by a traditional Chinese luncheon at the Silver Dragon Restaurant, 835 Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94607.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in Robin’s name to the San Lorenzo High School Scholarship fund. Contributions may be sent to San Lorenzo High School, 50 E. Lewelling Boulevard, San Lorenzo, CA 94850. For more information please call (510) 317-3100.

Day 12--Barbara

First, the good news. The EEG was not negative--he is still with us! How much with us is difficult to determine because of the strong sedatives that he requires, but he is here. More good news, he is back to his own heart rhythm and is off the pacemaker and most of the strong heart medications.

However, as always he has to be difficult--for the last 24 hours he has had irregular heart beats and his heart is racing, making it less efficient. The surgeon thinks that the VAD which is replacing the function of the right side of his heart is causing this. He has scheduled an OR for tomorrow afternoon and will move the VAD to a new location to see if this will help. After consulting with several individuals, he thinks that this may be the culprit. We have hit a brick wall in terms of progress and this is our next step. The doctor is hopeful that this will result in being able to close the chest soon--at least the skin--reducing the infection risk. He told me that Robin is in a much better place to move this VAD than he was when it was initially put in place. This is mostly due to the reduction of those heart meds.

I went back to work today--much harder to have a sub than to do it myself. It was a good distraction, and my students were great! Went directly from school to the hospital and, even with the freeway incident, I didn't have much traffic either way. Gary Joe (cousin-in-law) stopped by breifly to check in with Kitty and I at the hospital and caught us in a euphoric moment--had just had good news from the doctor.

Thank you to all of you who are sharing this rollercoaster ride with us! We are at least feeling more hopeful today--keep those prayers and thoughts coming--we need them all!

Day 11--Barbara

Robin had his chest washed out again this morning at 9:00 am. When I arrived at 11:00 they were just finishing up and I had to wait for 30 minutes. As I went into the waiting room, I was asked to wait to speak to the doctor before seeing him. As usual there is mixed news. They are still taking off fluids--had slowed down, but are taking more now. They are reducing some drugs and changing others--too many to keep in my head. They have him paralyzed due to the coughing that occurred yesterday--it was a bad thing as it messed with the heart rhythm. The lungs still look bad in the x-ray due to the infection, but the doctor says that the x-ray is not always a reliable determiner of whether they are in fact getting better. On the bright side, the doctor thought that he may have seen some movement on the right side of the heart during the wash out. They have changed to predigested food in an effort to get more nutrition into him. The doctor also said that it may be another week before he is able to close up Robin's chest. That's the good news...

On the other side...

In the next day or so they will do an EEG on Robin to make sure that there is still brain function--the neurologist said that the coughing was an indication that the brain was still functioning at autonomic levels--the EEG will give them some idea whether it is also still functioning at higher levels--the stuff makes Robin the funny guy that he is! The doctor said that he has no indications to think that Robin is not "still in the building", but since he has been unable to bring him to consciousness since the operation and due to the tremendous efforts being expended to keep him alive, we need to be sure that the efforts are not in vain.

Today is the first day that the doctor told me exactly about the condition of Robin's heart. The right side was not functioning at all when he put in the VAD and if function cannot be restored, he will need a heart transplant. The doctor has already alerted Stanford that this may be a possibility. However, a transplant is not possible if there is any sign of infection, so now is a real good time for more prayers both for the EEG and the infection.

This is possibly the single most difficult thing I have ever had to live through--It is so hard to see my very best friend in such a bad state. I am holding it together by the thinnest of threads. I feel the love from all of you reading this, and hope to have better news soon.

Day 10--Barbara

Robin has developed an infection, and today it affected his breathing. Scary! I really just want to get off this ride! When I left this evening, they were moving his IVs from one site to another--a major project. Earlier, his lungs were suctioned. None of this is to his liking and it is all difficult for him. His condition is still about the same. Keep the prayers and well wishes coming--we still need them all.

Day 9 --Barbara

Where to start--Robin is in very grave condition. He is tough and hanging in there, but this is going to be a long, uphill struggle. Kitty (sister-in-law) has a metaphor that sums it up, but I will let her tell it. We are all looking forward to Robin's ultimate recovery, but on a day-to-to day basis, it doesn't seem that much progress has been made. He is still sedated because his chest is open. He is still hooked up to every machine know to man. Although he is still receiving a multitude of IV drips, a few of the serious heart medicines have been removed. Again--I cannot stress how serious his condition is enough. We are blessed to have him with us again each day. One of his doctors said to me today that he presented with the most serious set of complications that they have ever had at this hospital--Kaiser SF--one of the most respected cardiac hospitals in the bay area. Leave it to Robin to be difficult!

Anyway, Kitty, Stephanie, the boys, and I are hanging in there and we all thank you for your well wishes and prayers. I am trying to take care of myself and still be with him as much as I can--what a job. Keep praying and I will try to keep you up to date. This is much easier than calls. Thanks for understanding!