Sixteen-year-old Alyia Hope Argyle dreamed of cleaning up her mother's backyard in Sandy, Utah. She never got the chance. After the Alta High School junior died from a seizure on August 21, her lacrosse teammates picked up rakes, shovels, and yard tools to finish the project she started, transforming her mother's yard into something the family can hold onto.
Argyle was born April 23, 2010, according to an obituary published by Larkin Mortuary. She passed away peacefully in her sleep, the obituary states. Her sudden death devastated the Alta lacrosse community.
According to FOX 13 News Utah, both Argyle's own lacrosse teammates and the Alta High School boys lacrosse team showed up in Sandy to finish cleaning up her mother's backyard. Hannah Qureshi, who met Argyle during her freshman year and became her best friend, described her as the most happy, kind and funny person ever, per the station's report. Qureshi said she plans to play the upcoming season for Argyle, hoping to support her family and fulfill the dreams and projects Argyle had left unfinished.
A Mother's Tribute and a Community's Response
Melissa Christensen, Argyle's mother, called her daughter a ray of sunshine and said Argyle believed being a good person required zero energy, the same station reported. Christensen said her daughter's death was unexpected and that losing her felt like losing part of herself and the family. She added that Argyle's impact reached far beyond her immediate circle, touching everyone from a neighboring older woman to people she encountered at the gym.
The yard cleanup brought the lacrosse teams together. Brandon Horoba, the Alta High School boys varsity lacrosse coach, said the boys' participation demonstrated their character and their parents' upbringing, and told the station he wants the team to make the lacrosse field their happy place this season.
Epilepsy Safety and the Push for Awareness
Christensen has said she wants greater awareness of epilepsy-related safety measures following her daughter's death, and Argyle's case reflects a broader, if statistically rare, medical reality. Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, or SUDEP, affects roughly 1 in every 1,000 adults with epilepsy annually in the United States but is far rarer among youth, striking approximately 1 in every 4,500 children age 17 or younger, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal survey data also shows about 456,000 U.S. children in that age range lived with active epilepsy in 2021 and 2022.
A study published in The Lancet and highlighted by Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine examined risk factors for SUDEP, according to Northwestern's Feinberg News Center. Separately, CDC mortality research published in Epilepsy & Behavior found epilepsy was listed as a cause or contributing factor in 43,231 U.S. adult deaths between 2011 and 2021, with 39% of those cases listing epilepsy as the underlying primary cause, per the Epilepsy Alliance America.
Utah has already taken legislative steps addressing seizure response in schools. Under House Bill 241, Utah public schools permit trained employee volunteers to administer physician-prescribed seizure rescue emergency medications to students experiencing seizures, according to the Epilepsy Foundation and Utah Code.
Alta High School and Its Lacrosse Program
Alta High School is in Sandy, Utah. The school is located in Utah. Boys and girls lacrosse are part of Alta High School's program.
Argyle's family has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to support Christensen and the rest of the family. Christensen has said Argyle left a strong legacy, one now being carried forward not just in memory but in the backyard sanctuary her teammates are helping build, piece by piece, for the mother she left behind.
