SANDY, Utah — They say a little hard work and some elbow grease makes a successful fall cleanup, but there was someone missing.
“I met Alyia my freshman year when I started playing lacrosse. She was the most happy, kind, funny person ever," said Hannah Qureshi, Alyia’s best friend.
“Alyia was a ray of sunshine," said her mother Melissa Christensen, "she used to always just tell me, "Mom, it takes zero energy to be a good person."
It was Alyia's dream to clean up her mom's backyard, but that dream was cut short on August 21. Alyia had epilepsy and experienced a seizure that took her life.
“We didn't expect to lose her. And if I could do anything, it would be bring awareness to this and that there's alarms and there's things that you can do to save your kids," Christensen said, "Losing her is like losing a part of me, and same with her siblings, like she was like the glue in our family.”
With Alyia gone, the backyard fell quiet until Saturday, when her lacrosse teammates showed up to finish what she started.
“I just want to be here to support her family and make what dreams she had and projects she was doing come true," Qureshi said.
“It's so easy to change people's lives just by one nice thing. Just spread kindness, and these kids have done it in such a beautiful way," Christensen said, "this would mean the world to her.”
Even the boys lacrosse team showed up to lend a helping hand.
“This is a good group of boys. They just want to do the right things a lot of times in life, and this just is a demonstration of the character that they have and the parents that are raising them to be good boys," said the Alta High School boys varsity lacrosse coach Brandon Horoba.
Even with a finished backyard, they have to learn how to go on with a gaping hole on the lacrosse field, and in their heart.
“For me this season, I'm definitely doing it for her," Qureshi said.
“I think it's going to be hard the first time they take the field... but they've got to realize that that was her happy place, and so they need to make it their happy place," Horoba said.
“As a 16-year-old, you just wouldn't realize like how much of an impact she could make…from the old lady next door to the people at the gym," Christensen said, "I can't think of a better legacy for a kid.”
To support Alyia's family, you can visit their GoFundMe by clicking here.
