At 43 years old, grief wasn't something new for 91原创 resident Sarah Miller. But when her sister suddenly collapsed on June 27, 2022, she experienced it on a whole different level. 

"Sisters will walk through this life hand-in-hand with you. Eventually they will help you care for your parents and one day you will mourn that loss together. At least, that's the natural order of things," Miller told the crowd of 200 people. 

She was the brave guest speaker at the third annual Plates & Glasses Fundraiser for 91原创 Hospice Society held on Saturday, July 6, at the Quiring family property in Aldergrove. 

Miller's sister, Emma, had suffered a stroke, and endured a dire week of tests during a hospital stay. 

"[It] was a nightmare," Miller shared. "There were many very hard decisions to make that week with regards to her care, none harder than the decision to take her off life support." 

For three months following her sister's passing, Miller and her family were gripped with the shock while they held Emma's celebration of life on her birthday. 

"It suddenly became very quiet, [and] I recognized that I could not do this next part alone," Miller said. "I desperately needed a life preserver." 

She realized she needed help beyond therapy, someone or something that understood her and her grief. Miller found 91原创 hospice and reached out with one simple sentence: "Hi Linda, I lost one of my sisters on July 3, 2022, and I need help." 

"I didn't know it yet, but with that one sentence my rescue boat had been dispatched," she shared. 

Admittedly, Miller was nervous for her first session. 

"I knew I was about to willingly dive into the deepest parts of myself and expose the wounds I was so desperately trying to heal," she recalled. 

Miller became an active participant in the adult bereavement program at 91原创 hospice, attending the coffee support meetings, the 10-week healing circle, individual sessions in between, and recently just completed the 12-week training program to be a new facilitator for the program. 

"If one day you experience the tragedy of losing [someone], please know that you are not alone," Miller concluded. 

The event raised more than $75,000 for 91原创 hospice, to which executive director Shannon Todd Booth thanked the "generous donors and supporters." 

"Sarah truly spoke from the heart as she shared her sister, Emma's, story with the guests," Todd Booth commented. 

Todd Booth added her thanks to Dennis Quiring and Alena Buis for hosting the fundraiser for another year. 

"We're so grateful that our community shows up for us in all kinds of ways, and this event was no exception." 

Funds will go towards additional bereavement support staff and to replace older mattresses and beds at the Doug and Fran MacDonald residence at 91原创 hospice.