Kristopher Hwang's Obituary
Kristopher Sheng Wen Hwang was born in Queens New York on Christmas Eve 1989. He was an early Christmas gift to his parents Daniel & Kaori Hwang. Kristopher peacefully passed away at his home on the morning of October 18th 2010.Kristopher moved from the Big Apple to the Golden State with his loving parents at the age of two and has been a resident of Foster City, California for the past nineteen years. He attended Sea Breeze Pre-School and continued his studies at Brewer Island Elementary School, Bowditch Middle School and Aragon High School. Upon completing his high school education, he later enrolled and was accepted at "Burlingame University". Kristopher was a brave young man who battled to beat the odds against an undiagnosed disease that eventually ravaged his body and robbed him of his fine and gross motor skills. Kristopher's body deteriorated over the past eleven years, he first lost the ability to walk/stand and by the time he finished fifth grade he was completely wheelchair bound and by the time he reached the seventh grade he lost the ability to talk and as fate would have it he eventually lost the ability to eat and drink by mouth. He was totally dependent on his parents and his younger sister Katrina for all of his daily care and needs. He was extremely blessed to have Leila (his school aide at AHS/BHS) and Letty (his aide at home) whom he has both known for over the past seven years.Kristopher has seen numerous doctors ranging from his pediatrician of nineteen years, Dr. Yeh to a variety of specialists including Neurologists, Orthopedic Surgeons, Pulmonologists, Rehab Specialists, Geneticists and Gastro-Intestinal Specialists. In addition, Kristopher has had over fifteen years of speech therapy, and thirteen years of physical and occupational therapy.Over the past three years Kristopher has gone through several major surgeries including operations for a g-tube/feeding tube (three hour surgery), Baclofen Pump (seven hour surgery) and Spinal Fusion/Back Surgery (which took approximately 11 hours). His extensive surgeries have required him and his parents to stay in the ICU recovery ward for weeks and to stay overnight in hospitals (UCSF, Oakland Children's Hospital and Lucille Packard Children's Hospital) for months on end Over the past eleven years Kristopher has had to endure a multitude of tests including a countless number of blood draws, lumbar punctures (cerebral spinal fluid drawn from the spine) genetic testing, pre-op exams, over night sleep studies, multiple swallow studies, MRI's, EEGS, CAT/PET scans, and excruciating skin and muscle biopsies. Through this all, the Hwang family never gave up hope; they were in the process of having Kristopher accepted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) newly developed Undiagnosed Disease Program to provide more insight and information as to what was at the root of Kristopher's debilitating disease.Kristopher was a strong and courageous man, although Kristopher was terrified of needles, he never showed it and unfailingly continued his bi-weekly acupuncture treatments which lasted for six months. When the acupuncture treatment failed to slow his disease he tried other homeopathic and holistic therapies and treatments. Throughout this entire ordeal of tests, therapies, treatments and surgeries Kristopher somehow managed to maintain his witty disposition and kept a bright outlook. His sweet smile said it all. Kristopher loved all things Nickelodeon including Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Odd Parents, iCarly, Victorious, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Drake & Josh and so much more. He loved surfing on YouTube to watch funny videos about people and animals doing silly things. He had a strong passion for Nintendo videogames. He has all the Nintendo Mario Bros. games including all the titles ranging from Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Mario Tennis, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Golf, Mario Kart, Mario Baseball and dozens of more titles. He has all four Nintendo game consoles including the classic Super Nintendo system, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube and the Nintendo Wii. He would always look forward to having his friend's come over to hang out; especially Masaki and Kevin (who he has known since he was two years old) visit his home to play games for and with him. Kristopher's parents and younger sister Katrina loved being with him as much as he loved being with them. The family learned to adapt and cope with Kristopher's tragic disease and always made the extra effort to make sure that his daily needs were cared for. They would take turns to brush his teeth twice daily, give him warm baths, change his clothes, give him his daily medications, put on and take off his orthotics (foot braces), help transfer him from hospital bed to wheelchair to standing frame and back to bed, prepare his foods including Boost/Ensure, clean for him and so much more. It would take at least one hour and a half to get Kristopher ready for school in the morning. They persevered and worked as a team collectively and made many sacrifices to ensure that he was safe, clean and happy. In Kristopher's brief time here he has profoundly touched many people's lives. He will be remembered by his family, friends, teachers, classmates and doctors.Kristopher is now in a much better place with his grandfather (Ji Ji) and is no longer trapped in his body. His soul is at peace and his spirit is finally free soaring high above the clouds.Kristopher is survived by his parents Daniel and Kaori Hwang and his younger sister Katrina, his three grandparents, numerous aunts and uncles, cousins and close friends.Family and friends are invited to attend Kristopher's memorial at the Lifemark Center located at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo, California on Saturday October 23rd from 11 AM to 3 PM with the memorial service taking place from 1 PM to 2 PM.
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