A Maryland teenager died suddenly on Saturday, leaving her family and friends mourning the life that could have been.
Kayla Virginia Linton, 17, of Arbutus, went into cardiac arrest after suffering from the flu for nearly a week, according to the Baltimore Sun. A tribute to her life was held Tuesday night at her school, Lansdowne High School, prior to the boys' varsity basketball game.
The tribute before the game was fitting for the athletic teen, who played basketball, field hockey and lacrosse and ran track.
Her mother, Kerry Linton, told the Sun that there was no soul quite like that of her daughter.
"Kayla was the happiest, most cheerful, (most) loving person," Kerry Linton said. "Kayla couldn't even be mean to someone who wronged her. She didn't have a mean bone in her body."
Todd Hawkins, Lansdowne High’s athletic director, offered a similar sentiment.
“She was a ray of sunshine,” Hawkins told the newspaper. “She didn’t have any enemies.”
Kayla Linton's brother, William Linton Jr., told WJZ in Baltimore that the support of friends and the school community is helping his family to get through the immediate aftermath of their loss.
"I just wish I could have seen what she would have grown up and done," William Linton said. "She would have been an amazing person."
The cause of Kayla Linton’s cardiac arrest remained unclear on Tuesday. In the meantime, grief counselors were being provided at the school to help her classmates cope with her death.
Lansdowne High’s athletic department is ironing out details of an athletic scholarship to be established in her name. A candlelight vigil will also be held in her honor Saturday at a local middle school, a flier for which was posted on social media.
Friends of the teen also expressed their grief on Facebook and Twitter. Some pointed out that their friend's story was bringing love from across the country and around the globe.
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