Child left legacy of love

Kaylee Marie Allison, 10, had a way with her little brother like no one else. Five-year-old Sam is autistic and very shy, their uncle Tim Speaks said.

“When Sam gets around people, he gets kind of funny,” Speaks said. “But he was very comfortable with her. She could sit down with him and connect with him. He would concentrate, listen to her and obey her. It was a special connection.”

Like eye contact and hugging.

“He didn’t hug anybody but her,” he said. “He knew she was his sister. He knew she loved him. She was like a second mother to him.”

And laughter.

“She could make him laugh when the kid doesn’t laugh,” Speaks said.

Kaylee Marie also brought out the bravery in the little boy.

“He would go into a room he normally would not have if she was in there,” Speaks added. “He’d tug on her hand to go outside.”

Tuesday, his sister said goodbye.

The oldest daughter of Rodney and Tammy Allison, of Auburn, Kaylee Marie died early Tuesday, the morning of her 10th birthday.

Kaylee Marie showed symptoms of an unknown illness for less than a day before her death.

She moved to the Auburn area with her parents two years ago, Speaks said. Her parents didn’t even have a regular physician for her because she never got sick.
“All of this happened with a healthy girl,” he said.

When she came down with a stomach ache Sunday, her parents played it safe and took her to the doctor Monday. The doctor sent them home, saying she probably had a stomach virus, Speaks said.

Later that night, she felt worse and started fainting, so her parents called 911.

“It happened from her walking into her parents’ bedroom at 11 o’clock to 2 o’clock, she was dead,” Speaks said. “That’s how quick it happened. That’s why it’s a mystery to us.”

Kaylee Marie loved people, athletics, Auburn football and her belief in God.

“She was a strong Christian,” Speaks said of his niece, a member of First Baptist Church of Opelika. “She lived her faith. People could see Jesus in her.”

Preliminary autopsy results indicate she did not die of a contagious disease, according to a statement released Wednesday by Lee County Coroner Bill Harris. Further tests are being done to determine the cause of death.

“Rumors have been rampant concerning the case, but the State Medical Examiner assured me there is no contagious disease that caused her death,” Harris said in the statement.

John Atkinson, spokesman for East Alabama Medical Center, where Kaylee Marie died, said to his knowledge, there is no connection between her death and any other recent deaths or current illnesses in the area.

The family simply wants to know why, Speaks said.

“The thing that hurts so much is it was so quick,” he said. “She was a great girl and touched a lot of lives.”

Kaylee Marie was heavily involved in gymnastics and swimming, but “she lived for Auburn football,” Speaks said.

Sitting in the family’s upper deck perch, she proudly wore her Auburn jerseys to each home game.

Described as an all-A student, she would have started the fifth grade at Ogletree Elementary School in Auburn next week.

“She was smarter than all of us,” Speaks said.

Kaylee Marie’s sudden death has taken a toll on the family.

“I was in the room with her when she died,” Speaks said. “One thing I remember most were the doctor… and nurses in the emergency room. They were all so emotional. It was a touching moment.”

Speaks will never forget the last three words his niece said to him.

“She said, ‘I love you.’”

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