Charity donations pour in after woman finds order of service in desk
Thousands of pounds in donations have been made to an old fundraising page after a stranger found an order of service for a funeral in a desk drawer.
Hari Miller found the funeral programme of Amelia Roberts, who died in 2018, in the desk she inherited at a new job, and was moved by the story of the young woman's death from a rare form of epilepsy.
In a thread on Twitter Ms Miller said: "I inherited a desk and drawers in my new job but didn't have the key until today. When I opened it the stuff from the previous person was still inside it. Shuffling through I stumbled across the order of service for a 21yo girl, Amelia.
"Reading it I learned she had a rare form of epilepsy that's resistant to drugs. Those people are much more prone to sudden death during an episode. Sadly that happened to Amelia. I'm feeling quite tender at the moment so it hit me right in the guts and I had a cry in the loo."
Ms Miller made a donation to the family's JustGiving page explaining how she came across the story, and received a reply from Amelia's parents.
In her post, she explained: "They told me that Amelia had made quite an impression in her short life. She'd arranged to donate her brain to epilepsy research when she died. And she had over 600 mourners turn up and spill out of the church at her funeral."
Since Ms Miller shared the story on Twitter, it's been retweeted more than 5,000 times, and led many others to make donations to Amelia's page.
An update from Amelia's father posted six months ago said they had managed to raise £80,000.
The family has now broken the £100,000 mark.
Thanking people on Twitter, Amelia's father Hamish Roberts wrote: "What a day! I am simply blown away by you Hari and Twitter. Thank you everyone for your warmth and beautiful comments.
"Tomorrow will be the first anniversary of Amelia's funeral. With the wonderful donations today we have raised nearly £85k for the amazing epilepsy society."
Speaking of his daughter, he added: "She was funny gentle and kind. She would have loved what you have done here! She achieved so much in her short life.
"She died at home, but was in her last year at university where she had done enough to be awarded her degree. So proud of her."
One person wrote: "Twitter is basically awful, but the occasional good thing persuades me not to delete it. So sorry for your loss, she was clearly an amazing person."
Another said: "More Twitter love. It's like it was meant to be. So glad Hari got the key to the desk and found Amelia's brave but tragic story."
The JustGiving page explains: "Amelia tragically died at home on the 20th December 2018 aged 21.
"Around her 16th birthday she developed epilepsy in the form Petit Mal seizures or temporary absences from her surrounding situation.
"Supported by her dedicated medical team, she began a journey to tackle her condition using various combinations of prescribed drugs to control her fits, but to no avail. Even though these powerful drugs affected her energy levels it didn't deter her from trying to lead a normal life. Just over a year ago she started experiencing Grand Mal seizures where she lost consciousness.
"Amelia found support from the Epilepsy Society who carry out important research and guidance to this awful affliction. She made the decision to donate her brain in the hope it will benefit others by providing valuable clues as to the cause and cure for this life threatening condition."
