Sarah Harkins, a pregnant Virginia woman, wife, and mother of four, died Monday along with her unborn child after being stung by wasps in her backyard and experiencing an allergic reaction.
"She fell unconscious and went to the hospital, and it was discovered there was a brain aneurysm, and during the trauma of it all, it burst and caused her death," Sarah's brother Tom Schulzetenberg
told NBC News.
"It's something that you never really prepare for. We're doing our best to hold each other up."
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Harkins, 32, was a dedicated mother, and her brother explained that she was an active blogger, lover of arts and crafts — most recently making a rosary for her family — and home-schooled the children. She and her husband, Eric, were expecting their fifth child to be a girl.
ABC affiliate WRIC reported that hundreds gathered to mourn her passing on Thursday night, including family, friends, and members of St. Mary Catholic Church where she was an active participant. Harkins was especially active in volunteering at a Fredericksburg shelter for homeless women, and the church-affiliated shelter plans to open a new building in August and name it the "Sarah and Cecilia Harkins Home" after her and her unborn child.
A funeral for Harkins will be held Friday.
Her husband Eric and his co-workers
set up a donation page to help cover the expenses of the funeral and extra care for their children, and as of Friday morning it had already received over $45,000 in donations.
"With Sarah gone, Eric is not equipped to do this by himself," Schulzetenberg said.
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