On January 16th, my dad, Boramy Ngin, was working when he felt pain in his lower abdomen. He said he had trouble walking but still stubbornly drove himself home. That's just the way he is, never wanting to burden anyone else. The next day, on the 17th, the pain continued, and he collapsed in the kitchen. My older brother, Mardino Ngin, then brought him to the hospital to get checked out. I was getting updates while in Los Angeles at work when I got a call from my mother that he was now in high-risk surgery. His odds were 50/50.

I was later informed he had an aneurysm, and his aorta in the abdominal area burst, causing internal bleeding. The surgery would be 6-7 hours.

As I raced home to pack up my things, determined to be there when he woke up and was out of surgery, I got the call. The blood loss was too much, and during surgery, he had a heart attack. We lost him.

He leaves behind my mother, 4 sons, and 2 daughters. We were absolutely blindsided. Never saw this coming so soon. He was so strong and always working on fixing up the house and working on cars. My father was the epitome of old school and didn't believe in doctors, so I'm pretty sure he didn't have life insurance. When they were taking him to save his life, he told them, "I don't want surgery" lol. I don't know how much the funeral expenses are going to come out to. My dad would hate all of this and want everything to be as free and cheap as possible. My mom is exactly the same and doesn't want to trouble anyone either. But as my siblings and I come together to figure this all out, friends and family have asked that we set this up so they may help with what they can, so here it is. We understand times are tough for everyone and don't expect much. There's no obligation. Anything helps.

He came to this country in the '70s, traveling for years to get to the U.S., surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia. He taught himself English, how to work on cars, and everything else to make it in America. He worked 2 full-time jobs to support all 8 of us in a small apartment in the projects. He built everything with his bare hands and learned everything so he could fix everything from plumbing to electrical to construction. Half because he loved it, half so he wouldn't have to pay anyone else to do it. (I think more than half lol.) He was the OG ADHD, working on a thousand projects at once even in retirement, and my inspiration for everything. And now I just want to do our best in honoring his life and legacy. Thank you.