At 37 years old, I never thought I would have to bury my younger sister. I've been through what I thought were difficult times, school, break-ups, job loss, head-on collision, and post-traumatic stress but nothing comes close to the pain I feel in my heart and mind over seeing my sister on machines to keep her alive, in a casket, and lowering a casket with her body into the ground. Above all, the helplessness of seeing my parents and her young son weep in despair.

There was a…