General Hospital actress Emme Rylan shared some devastating personal news on her Instagram page on Monday morning. The soap opera star’s sister Lara has passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Emme shared a photo of her sister via her Instagram page and added some details. Fans likely remember that in April 2019, she first told her followers about this difficult situation. Lara was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer in October 2018.
In her new post, Emme said that her sister had just passed away. She included three photos of her sibling, including one that showed the two ladies with a brother when they were young children. Another photo showed Lara with her dog Riley, and Emme referenced in her caption how the two would be together again now.
Emme also mentioned the GoFundMe page that had been created early on in this cancer battle. The fundraising campaign went well enough that the funds were sufficient to keep her in her home on the East Coast until her passing — something that she and her family were quite grateful for.
According to the Altoona Mirror , Lara passed away on July 22. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the funeral was limited to a small, private gathering.
General Hospital fans and fellow cast members rallied around the actress to show their support for her during this tough time.
“I am so so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, I am sending all of my love and prayers to you and your little ones and your family. Hang in there honey!” wrote co-star Kelly Monaco.
“Oh Emme. I’m so so sorry for your loss,” said her on-air romantic interest, Mark Lawson.
In the two hours after initially sharing this sad news, more than 8,000 people liked the post to show their love, and nearly 2,000 people added comments.
Notes came in from other cast members like Parry Shen, Briana Nicole Henry, Rebecca Budig, Wes Ramsey, and William Lipton.
“Very beautiful. I’m so sorry for your loss. May her memory be a wonderful blessing,” a follower detailed.
“Em, I’m so sorry. Hugging you right now. May her soul shine forever,” someone else noted.
Last week, Emme revealed via Instagram that she was back on the GH set and quite excited about it. She posted several photos but later took them down. In retrospect, it’s possible that her situation was connected to her decision to remove the images.
New episodes of GH begin airing during the week of August 3. While this is certainly a tough time personally for Emme, it seems she is eager to get back to showcasing Lulu’s shenanigans, and fans cannot wait to see what comes next for her.