QL - sorry to hear of your loss. Sickle-cell is a horrible illness It sounds like the funeral was a positive experience though, I hope that it somehow helped to ease the pain for everyone there.
As for essays - wanna swap yours for a 2000 word exegesis of Job 28:23-28? Yours sounds more exciting!
(((exwitless))) hope you're feeling in better spirits today.
Self-sacrifice? hmmm... I suppose in certain situations it could be seen as beneficial - 'better that one man die for all the people' etc. Maybe it has benefits if its a genuine act of love, rather than out of a sense of duty or responsibility (as in the case of some martyrs maybe - accepting it as 'part of the deal'?).