EUREKA -- For days, family, friends and community have gathered at the Burns residence as mother, father, sisters and brother endure the tragic, sudden loss of Alyssa.

"With all the people here back and forth, and the kids, it's like Alyssa's still here somewhere," said her mother, Terri Burns. "We'll miss her."

The 17-year-old died in a one-car accident June 25 on a township road east of Eureka. Nearly 1,000 people attended her visitation. At Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, where her father Joe has been pastor since 2005, another 400 attended her funeral.

Relatives and classmates have spent nights sharing their grief and exchanging joyous memories with Alyssa's parents, her brother Darin and sisters Angie, Cara and Keeley.

Since eighth grade, Alyssa had suffered from neurocardiogenic syncope, a defect in the communication between the brain and the heart that resulted in occasional painful fainting spells.

"For example, when you go from sitting to standing, you have the appropriate changes in your heart rate and blood pressure in order to do that task," said her father. "Simple postural changes caused problems for her."

Her ailment was misdiagnosed and medication caused more problems until further tests got her medicine back on track.

Her mother is director of nursing at Apostolic Christian Skyline in Peoria. Alyssa and her brother Darin, a recent Eureka High School valedictorian, also worked there.

Her occasional spells didn't keep Alyssa from doing the things she loved. As an eighth grader, she participated in dance, track, basketball, softball and volleyball. In high school, she played volleyball and basketball as a freshman and sophomore, blew her ACL in basketball, but came back eight months later as a junior starter on the volleyball team.

Alyssa's cardiologist OK'd her driving a car because a spell would come on slow and she was aware of it. Driving never bothered her.

Just a couple months ago, Alyssa suffered a serious fainting spell at church.

Later that week, "we were cuddled here on the couch and talked about death and she described how she was so tired of this and these spells hurt. They're very painful. She said that, 'Mom, I just wanted to die (during the church spell). I'm so tired of this. I just can't do it anymore.' She said, 'I wanted to die so bad but there was a light and it got bigger and bigger and I could hear God tell me it wasn't my time; I had to go back.' We talked about death and where she was at with that thought process because she could go at any time with this.

"We found out since then that she did not want to tell me the rest of the story because she thought I would have a hard time dealing with it. I would have. But she had told her friends, and I noticed her boyfriend was so protective of her, that the end of the story was (that) as she had come back out of this near-death experience, the voice had said, 'Not now, you have to go back, but soon.'"

Wise beyond years

Terri's mother had ovarian cancer and moved in with the family this spring. She died the day after Mother's Day.

"Alyssa helped me with the physical care because I wasn't strong enough to do it myself and we talked about mom's spirit and heaven and everything," Terri said.

Joe added, "Alyssa had gone through enough where she was wise beyond her years in regards to her own mortality. She wasn't the typical teenager thinking she was invincible. She knew that she wasn't and she was OK with that because she had a strong relationship with our Savior."

Terri talked to Alyssa at 11:20 a.m. the day of the accident. "She said, 'I love you, Mommy.' I said, 'I love you, too, baby. Have fun.'"

Terri and Joe believe Alyssa was wearing her seatbelt while driving.

"Alyssa didn't drive without a seatbelt," Terri said. "That Buick was the car I drove and it had an obnoxious warning sign on it. I really think that she had the seatbelt on, but I'm also thinking that what could have happened is if she dropped that cell phone, she could have unbuckled to lean for it and lost (control). Who knows?"

Police say phone records show Alyssa was texting shortly before the accident.

Joe sat in the pews with the congregation on June 28, the day before his daughter was buried.

"I didn't preach obviously, but I did need to go and be in the pews with the people. Afterwards I asked them so I'll just say this is the one thing that I hope comes out of it, is I asked them to pray for us, but also to pray that Satan not find a single measure of victory in this and that the Holy Spirit be given the full measure of victory."