Remembering Albert

Dear everybody,

By now we hope you've heard the sad news of Albert's passing. You can read more details here. While his family is making arrangements for a memorial (click here for the latest update as of 9/9/08), we would like to invite anyone to share stories, memories, thoughts.  Links to photos and video are okay too- here in this space called "Remembering Albert." Please use the comments link below.

This space will be moderated by the A-Team (to keep out spam and such), and we hope you'll feel moved to share with everyone else your thoughts, feelings, stories, photos about Albert.

So: 

• if you have thoughts you'd like to share please use the comments link below.
  
• if you have photos, please read the update for instructions on how to share these.
  

These memories and stories will play an important role in helping his newborn twin nieces to know Albert. 

Through them and through all of us, Albert continues to live on.

Love,

The A-Team

Update from Albert's Family

Updated on 9/9/08

Dear Friends,

 

The Wang family invites you to help celebrate and memorialize the life of Albert Wang on Saturday Sept. 20 at Jack London Square in Oakland, California, in the pavilion operated by Scott's Seafood: 

http://www.scottseastbay.com/oak_pavilion.cfm. 

Doors will open at 10 am, with a formal program starting at about 11:30 am. Food and beverage will be served. 

 

Following the pavilion event, a memorial paddle will depart from nearby California Canoe and Kayak, sometime between 2 and 3pm, and will be coordinated by CCK's proprietor and long time supporter of the kayaking community, Keith Miller.   

 

A follow up communication will provide directions and recommendations for local overnight accommodations. 

 

In the meantime, the organizers of this event ask for help on a few fronts:

 

1)  Recommendations on local hotels or other accommodations for out of town guests.

2)  Hardcopy photos.  We would like to display photos of Albert on several tables. If you have photos that you are comfortable leaving on display during the memorial, please bring them. In organizing the photos, flamboyant captions providing context are most welcome. Please also label the collection, and even the individual photos with return information, to help prevent their misplacement. We are also looking to make arrangements to scan and return hardcopy photos, so please think whether you might be comfortable lending your collection so that it can be scanned.

 

3)  Softcopy photos.  We will look into setting up a few laptops to display slideshows or videos. Again, captions and context are welcome. The family would be grateful if it could receive copies of photos/videos on disc.  Also, we've created a website, which is probably best if you only have a handful of photos or so.  That site is

http://gallery.me.com/tsesung#100016&bgcolor=ltgrey&view=grid

You can follow the directions posted there for uploading via a web browser or by simply emailing them (in which case the subject line of the email becomes the photo's caption).  You can send more than one photo per email.

 

4)  Memorabilia. Please contact us if you or a group have ideas for other memorabilia.

 

5)  Speakers.  Please email us at this address if you would like to speak. There will be ample opportunity to speak spontaneously, but an initial schedule will aid in planning. Please indicate if your remarks might be shorter (2 minutes or less) or longer, and provide a little context on how you know Albert.  If you are unable to attend but would like to send some remarks for display or for reading, please also feel free to send those to us.

 

6)  Follow Up Memorials. The Wang family will make available a portion of Albert's ashes, to be scattered in the many settings where he enjoyed life. Albert's life was many faceted, so we know that we need help in honoring him in this way. What we are envisioning is that groups that knew Albert will organize and appoint a contact. The contact will receive a portion of Albert's ashes at the pavilion event. Later, the groups can organize and hopefully videotape the scattering of the ashes, add personal interviews and introductions, and talk about how Albert enjoyed that particular activity. Ideally the family would receive softcopies of any photos or videos, and they would also be loaded to the web. 

 

Thank you all for loving Albert,

 

Albert's Little Brother,

Tom

From 8/24/08:

Thank you for all your messages and well-wishes.

Albert is scheduled to be cremated on Friday morning at 10 am in a private proceeding attended by the immediate family. The family is hoping to schedule the memorial for Albert two or three weekends from now. The family has agreed to make a portion of Albert's ashes available for different groups to scatter in the settings that Albert loved. We will have more details regarding this soon.

Cards may be sent to this address:

The Wangs

3942 N Chesterbrook Rd

Arlington VA 22207

In lieu of gifts, the family would like it if donations could be made in Albert's name to one of his favorite charities. Once, the logistics are arranged we will let you know.

Albert

Albert died at 8:48 PM EST 8/20/2008. His passing was peaceful, and attended by family. The family is making arrangements for Albert's cremation, which may not occur until late next week. We will be discussing details of a memorial in the coming days.

Message from Albert's Family

***Thank you for all your continued support and patience. We will be communicating with you via this blog and via the albert6363@gmail.com email. Please DO NOT CONTACT ALBERT'S FAMILY BY PHONE.***

The family apologizes for the delay in updating you. This was due to the suddenness of the events that have occurred, the family's wish for privacy and respect for Albert.

On Wednesday August 6, Albert and his family went to see his oncologist to discuss treatment options, prognosis, and possibly get his second round of chemo. However, a variety of tests indicated that his blood oxygen level was below the target level. The oncologist was very concerned and Albert was transported to the nearest hospital, Fair Oaks.

The rest of Wednesday and Thursday, Albert was tested and given oxygen in the ICU. Tom saw him Thursday night and although Albert had to pause to breathe and think at times, he was otherwise engaged.

On Friday night, Albert's breathing had become labored and as a result, a breathing tube was put in and then later a feeding tube as well. At this point, Albert was under a lot of sedation and pain meds and was not very responsive.

The next several days were spent trying to determine the cause of Albert's reduced lung capacity. During this time, the visits were not interactive and there was no news.

On August 14 and 15, it was confirmed that Albert's breathing was irrevocably impaired and primarily due to the cancer. The lead doctor guessed that 50%-75% of his lungs were affected. The doctors asked Albert's family to consider when they might terminate breathing support.

Over the next several days, Albert's family considered and pursued all alternative options but these efforts were unsuccessful. They also discussed the possibility of visitors but decided against it for a variety of reasons including Albert's preference in his waning days.

Today Albert's family will set in motion the process of removing Albert's breathing support. This will likely end his life, but if things go unexpectedly well Albert may be transferred to a hospice facility or to a non-ICU hospital room for a while.

The family has decided that Albert will be cremated but will not announce any formal memorial plans for several days. They would like to have a large memorial in the Bay Area that would incorporate all facets of his life (kayaking, rollerblading, One Brick, poker, school, work, San Diego, UD, etc.) Having a big repository of memorabilia about Albert will not only be comforting for the family but also will give them a blueprint by which to remember him in the future.

The family would like your thoughts and ideas on the best way to do this. Please email your thoughts and suggestions to: albert6363@gmail.com.

Thank you once again for your patience, support and understanding.

Chemo

From Tom, Albert's brother:

"Albert reported that he didn't use his computer much or play online poker while I was gone. He complained its been hard to concentrate. He had one round of chemo, which required a blood transfusion before he was ready (not a good sign). He complains of shortness of breath and fatigues easily. His appetite is way down. The stairs are hard on him. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow where I will directly ask the tough questions. We re-enrolled Albert in hospice, and they have delivered a lot of good services to help Albert be more comfortable." (August 5, 2008)

"I will have new update shortly, much is going on." (August 11, 2008)