Support for Pinky
Donation protected
I post this page with sincere humility and reservations.
My name is Ivan Ishihara. My Life partner Pinky Kim and I have been together for 25 years, and we are both from Hawaii. In that time we have been inseparable. We started an independent Harley Davidson repair shop named Vegas Thunder Cycle together in 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For 20 years Pinky has been dedicated to providing parts and repairs for Harley Davidson motorcycles as my partner, and has earned the respect as being the most knowledgeable person in this city when it comes to Harley parts for Ironheads to Milwaukee 8’s. We work together, ride together, competitively shoot together, camp together, and everything in between.
Pinky’s love for Harley’s and the biker community is unquestionable, and the outpouring of love from our customers and club riders has been overwhelming. Her presence as the Queen of Thunder is greatly missed. She is an extraordinary woman.
This past April she was diagnosed with CJD, Creutzfeld-Jakobs disease. Her type of CJD is termed “Sporadic”, which is a result of many years of damaged protein prions causing microscopic holes in a section of her brain. This condition does not leave any evidence that can be viewed by X-Rays or MRI’s. When there are enough holes, the person looses all motor functions including the ability to chew and swallow, and she can no longer speak. There are only 350 cases of CJD a year in the United States making this disease truly 1 in a million. It is untreatable, and 100% terminal. 70% of the people diagnosed with CJD expire within a year.
To see your loved one riding her Harley in January, degrade to an invalid state in May, is the most devastating experience a spouse can live through.
I am caring for her at home with our family and church friends volunteering their time to sit with her so I can keep our shop functioning. She has limited assistance from a Hospice Care service that provided the equipment and medications to manage her condition. She receives hydration and liquid nutrients via a stomach tube, so I administer to her health and hygiene needs throughout most of the mornings and nights.
I have been reluctant to post this Go Fund Me page because it is not easy for us ask anything from anyone. However I realized that to burden family and friends to stay with Pink five days a week while I maintain the operations of our shop, is too much to ask. The business we love so much is suffering due to my caring for her needs, and being by her side so she is never alone. I have decided to retain a Home Care Agency to be with her in our home while I keep the shop that Pinky built open. This expense is not covered by her insurance, and therefore must be self funded.
It is with profound humbleness that I ask for any help you can manage, and my heartfelt gratitude for anything you can do.
Ivan Ishihara
My name is Ivan Ishihara. My Life partner Pinky Kim and I have been together for 25 years, and we are both from Hawaii. In that time we have been inseparable. We started an independent Harley Davidson repair shop named Vegas Thunder Cycle together in 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For 20 years Pinky has been dedicated to providing parts and repairs for Harley Davidson motorcycles as my partner, and has earned the respect as being the most knowledgeable person in this city when it comes to Harley parts for Ironheads to Milwaukee 8’s. We work together, ride together, competitively shoot together, camp together, and everything in between.
Pinky’s love for Harley’s and the biker community is unquestionable, and the outpouring of love from our customers and club riders has been overwhelming. Her presence as the Queen of Thunder is greatly missed. She is an extraordinary woman.
This past April she was diagnosed with CJD, Creutzfeld-Jakobs disease. Her type of CJD is termed “Sporadic”, which is a result of many years of damaged protein prions causing microscopic holes in a section of her brain. This condition does not leave any evidence that can be viewed by X-Rays or MRI’s. When there are enough holes, the person looses all motor functions including the ability to chew and swallow, and she can no longer speak. There are only 350 cases of CJD a year in the United States making this disease truly 1 in a million. It is untreatable, and 100% terminal. 70% of the people diagnosed with CJD expire within a year.
To see your loved one riding her Harley in January, degrade to an invalid state in May, is the most devastating experience a spouse can live through.
I am caring for her at home with our family and church friends volunteering their time to sit with her so I can keep our shop functioning. She has limited assistance from a Hospice Care service that provided the equipment and medications to manage her condition. She receives hydration and liquid nutrients via a stomach tube, so I administer to her health and hygiene needs throughout most of the mornings and nights.
I have been reluctant to post this Go Fund Me page because it is not easy for us ask anything from anyone. However I realized that to burden family and friends to stay with Pink five days a week while I maintain the operations of our shop, is too much to ask. The business we love so much is suffering due to my caring for her needs, and being by her side so she is never alone. I have decided to retain a Home Care Agency to be with her in our home while I keep the shop that Pinky built open. This expense is not covered by her insurance, and therefore must be self funded.
It is with profound humbleness that I ask for any help you can manage, and my heartfelt gratitude for anything you can do.
Ivan Ishihara
Organizer
Ivan Ishihara
Organizer
Las Vegas, NV