Sydney, Megan and their father, Scott, tell their story of loss in their own words in Episode 3 of the Grieve Love Heal podcast

Seven-year-old Sydney sat alone at her teacher’s desk while many of her classmates pestered her with questions. “Are you okay, Sydney?” they asked.

Jill AND HER DAUGHTERS SYDNEY (LEFT) AND MEGAN (RIGHT)

Sydney may have been in school that day, but her mind was somewhere else. Her older sister, Megan, had just entered her class and confirmed her worst fear. Their mother’s long and difficult battle with cancer was over. She had passed away.

Sydney and Megan knew their mother Jill’s condition was declining. They’d seen her the previous night in the hospital. “She couldn’t say anything,” Megan recalls with tears in her eyes. “I was just telling her that I loved her and hoping that she could hear.” Their mother passed away in January of 2018 after breast cancer spread to her bones, liver and brain.

Even though some thoughts bring them to tears, the girls are still able to smile as they think about memories of their mom. "Since she was in the PTA at my school, when she did the book fair, I could go and maybe skip class or something and be with her," Sydney said.

Megan and Sydney are now looking toward their futures and say they will not let their grief define them. They, along with their dad and grandmother, Terri, began attending grief support groups at Valerie's House six months after their mother's death. “I think it was a really great step for us to take in our grief,” Megan said.

The family wants other families to know that finding others who are going through a similar grief journey can make all the difference. Sydney says there is a boy in her Valerie's House group who lost his mom to cancer and a girl close to her age who lost her mom as well. She says some of the children worry about the same things she does, like losing another parent. But knowing you are not alone is key.