Bees Kill Pregnant Woman, Sarah Harkins: Mother Of 4 Dies From Massive Bee Attack

A swarm of bees killed a pregnant woman while she was in her backyard on Monday afternoon. Sarah Harkins, 32, had a severe allergic reaction to wasp stings.

NBC 4 News in Washington reports that the incident occurred in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Harkins was also the mother of four other children, including one with Down Syndrome. Her brother, Tom Schulzetenberg, says:

“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.”

Tom shares that his sister had always wanted a big family and that she was pregnant with a girl that was due in a few months. Her brother says is something no one ever prepares for, but their family is doing their “best to hold each other up.”

Sarah Harkins was a genuine family person and was very much loved. She made rosary beads and home schooled her children. ABC News 8 adds that she was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She even volunteered at a shelter for homeless pregnant women for many years. Mary’s Shelter will open a new shelter in August and they plan to name it “Sarah and Cecilia Harkins Home.”

Sarah’s husband, Eric, is completely lost without his wife.

“With Sarah gone, [her husband] Eric is not equipped to do this by himself,” Tom reveals.

Tom’s co-workers many other have donated money to help out — and have set up two donation pages to help cover expenses for taking care of the children. So far, both sites have earned more than $158,000 for the Harkins family.

As of Friday morning, donations on the two sites had exceeded a total of $158,000.

Sarah’s brother says:

“We’ve received donations from France, Germany, Japan. Pray for the children. Pray for Eric. Pray for peace and strength for them.”

Sarah Harkins’ last blog post was this:

“I love the symbol of the anchor for hope. It is very powerful. Hope is the virtue of having confidence in God’s mercy that we will be in heaven with him someday.”

For donations you’d like to make for Harkins family, visit YouCaring.com or GoFundMe.com for the Sarah Harkins Memorial Fund.

Bees can kill anyone with allergic reactions. To hear that a pregnant woman died from a wasp attack such as this is especially heartbreaking in countless ways. She leaves behind a husband and four children who loved her very much.

[Image via GoFundMe.com]