After a nearly three-year battle with ALS that she shared online to inspire others, Columbus influencer Sara Bennett announced her own death on social media.
“I am not in pain, or tired. I can laugh, talk, and I can move,” the 39-year-old wife and mother of two said in a posthumous Jan. 13 Instagram post, the day after she died.
“Reflecting in my last few months of my life, I am glad I didn’t go suddenly even WITH the suffering. I finished my list.
“Even if you don’t believe in any thing, I am feeding the earth, and my tree. I loved this life, and am grateful for the time.”
With over 2,000 comments and 500 shares, the post is filled with messages of how the influencer changed lives and inspired hope through her digital platform, The Ananda Pivot.
She originally started her digital platform to highlight her side-hustle business in lifestyle organization in 2020. It then became a way to share her journey with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, when she was diagnosed with the terminal illness in March 2023.
“A visual representation isn’t necessary, but it’s something I can use to bring my advocacy efforts full circle and maybe provide some closure to the initial purpose of this account,” Bennett wrote in a May 21, 2024 Instagram post.
Even amid devastating circumstances, suffering and tears, Bennett’s posts shared lessons she learned through parenting with a terminal illness and the ways she worked to maintain normalcy and positivity with the time she had left.
This included sharing her story on podcasts atop her personal content. She also made national headlines for writing letters to her two sons, Lincoln and Will, two months before she died.
“Life will not always go as planned. In fact, it almost never does,” she continued in the May 2024 post. “… We can and should mourn what was not and what will never be, but at the same time I need to make the best of a terrible hand.”
How to support the Bennett family
Beyond inspiring others and sharing her journey, making the most of her time centered around moments with her husband, Rusty, and their two sons.
Instead of flowers, Bennett wanted people to honor her life by donating to college fund accounts for her two boys.
After his wife’s death, Rusty said via email that donating to these accounts would be the best way to support the family.
To donate, visit ugift529.com and enter the Ugift code L4R-R63 to give to Lincoln’s fund and T46-E6P to give to Will’s.
The central Ohio community can also support the family by cooking meals or donating funds to a Meal Train started by Rusty’s sister, Jessica Tully, at mealtrain.com/trains/zo3y4o.
Kindness and religion reporter Sophia Veneziano may be reached at sveneziano@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus influencer Sara Bennett, who shared her ALS experience, dies
Reporting by Sophia Veneziano, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
