Help for Baik's Family (Climber & Outdoors Family)

• In Loving Memory of Seung Sin Baik (Tony Baik), 백승신 (October 4th, 1956 - June 20th, 2021)

 

 

In the midst of pain and sorrow,

I humbly ask all friends, family, outdoor enthusiasts and everyone else who have crossed path with my family, for your support, love, and generosity during this difficult period.

After his passing, my mother, Hwanhee Baik, now has to work 7 days/week to until unforeseeable future to prepare for the medical bills we are about to receive. She has not had any time to even heal or rest emotionally. I hope to have the fund help my mom with funeral and medical expenses.
On the morning of June 9th, 2021, my father collapsed while he was taking a walk at Wilson Park, Torrance CA. He had a cardiac arrest and suffered from non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhaage. He was rushed to the hospital, but due to lack of CPR at the time of the incident and severity of his condition, even after a successful stent surgery, he suffered a severe brain bleed in multiple areas that he was not able to wake up from a coma. He passed away on June 20th, 2021. As a registered donor, he helped those in need even after his life. His heart and liver were successfully obtained for research purposes and his kidney was transplanted to give a new life. (We are waiting to see where/who received it.)

When I received the call that my father was in the hospital in critical condition, my world had fallen apart. I constantly re-live the day, the moment I was driving to the hospital, imagining a different outcome from what it is now. I can hear his laughter and see his smile when I close my eyes.

His values and passion for the outdoors made me who I am today, a climber, a hiker, an outdoor enthusiast, and a Green Vest at REI. A life outdoors would not have had any meaning to me without my father. He is the reason why I stand where I am today with my values, along with REI as well.

 

 

To share a little about who he was,

My father grew up in a domestic violence home. In order to escape from it, he chose to immigrate to the United States. Even though he grew up without a proper father figure, he never fell short in showing me what a family should be like.

He was a hard-working man who formed a strong relationship with customers and employees, who have worked with him for nearly 20 years, overcoming obstacles, language and cultural barriers.

He served as a rescue/climbing leader, and a president at Korean American Alpine Club. In the middle of a busy life, he devoted his time to serve and volunteer to teach and lead people to be safe and responsible on the mountain. He passed along his wealth of knowledge and experience of earlier days of climbing and backpacking to make sure his peers recreate outdoors safely.

He was the first Korean American to organize, lead and introduce John Muir Trail to the Korean Alpine community. His contribution to promoting responsible and healthy life outdoors led to media coverage in Korean newspapers and documentaries of "Human and Mountain" from South Korea as well.

Now, my family, my mother, and I face a monumental difficulty and have to risk all of his 64 years of work. He was just 3 weeks shy of applying for Medicare at the time of this tragedy. We are currently waiting for the Medi-Cal result.

My mom is currently billed with an initial hospital medical cost of $539,602.55 and more to follow with physician's bills. Waiting for the Medi-cal result is the first step and, if it does not cover the bills, negotiation with the hospital is our next step, but nothing is clear as of right now.

If you've made it here, I thank you for your time reading all the way through this and I humbly ask for any donation possible to help us through this tragedy.

Our family expresses the deepest gratitude for your love and support. We will never forget your contribution and generosity.

-Jong H Baik & Hwanhee Baik and all relatives-