Moments after a 16-year-old girl finished opening Christmas presents in her Alabama home, her heart stopped, according to her mother.

On Thursday, Dec. 25, Scarlett Durden was at home with her family in Piedmont to celebrate what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday, Janice Durden tells PEOPLE.

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As the family unwrapped gifts together, they were FaceTiming with Scarlett’s dad, Marvy Durden, II, who spent the holiday in the hospital while awaiting heart transplant surgery.

When they were done, Janice says her daughter started setting up her new computer before she decided to take a break and head to the pantry for a snack.

Janice watched as Scarlett, who appeared to be completely “fine,” left the main bedroom, where Janice was still on the phone with her husband.

Minutes later, their 12-year-old daughter, Shaylee, alerted her that something was amiss.

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“’Hey, Mom, Scarlett’s acting weird. She’s not talking to me,’ ” Janice, 37, recalls her youngest child saying.

Janice called Scarlett’s name twice, but received no response. When Shaylee rushed to her mom’s room, reiterating that her sister was acting strangely, Janice ran to the other room and told her husband she’d call back.

“Scarlett was on the floor. I called 911,” says Janice, who estimates she made the call less than five minutes after Scarlett first left the room to get food.

She performed CPR until first responders arrived and transferred her child to an ambulance.

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“That was the last time I saw my daughter before the hospital,” Janice says.

Janice called her sister-in-law to drive her and Shaylee to the hospital. When they arrived and began speaking to the medical team, Janice fainted. When she woke up, she was in a hospital bed. Then she found out that despite their best efforts, after 90 minutes of attempting to revive Scarlett, medical personnel were unable to bring her back.

It could take months before the autopsy results can potentially provide clarity about Scarlett’s sudden passing, but Janice says a hospital staffer told her that it seemed to be a sudden cardiac death, which the Mayo Clinic describes as “sudden, unexpected death within an hour due to a heart issue.”

When Janice called her husband of 17 years to tell him that their daughter had died, she made sure medical staff were in his room.

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“I didn’t want him to have a cardiac event,” she says.

Marvy, also 37, has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a “disease in which the heart muscle becomes thickened,” making it difficult for the heart to pump blood, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Her husband’s mother, aunt and grandfather have all died of heart-related issues, Janice says, noting that recent cardiomyopathy attacks prompted Marvy to go to the hospital before Christmas as he awaits his heart transplant, which can take months or even a year.

With such a dire family history, the couple made sure their pediatrician was aware when treating their two girls. (Janice has a third daughter, 19-year-old Trinity, from a previous relationship who has moved into her own home.)

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“We’ve always been upfront with their pediatricians about it,” says Janice, who adds that they were waiting to hear back from a specialist to organize a cardiology appointment for the girls.

But, besides a slight case of asthma, Scarlett seemed very healthy and was active in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps before her sudden death.

“She was absolutely fine. No complaints about chest pain, no complaints about shortness of breath, no complaints of not feeling well,” says Janice. “She was in front of me, and then she wasn’t.”

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Just last month, the Durden family moved from Carrollton, Ga., to Piedmont — and Janice says their new home was supposed to be a fresh start for them, one that Scarlett was excited about.

The teen had already made a slew of friends during her first couple of weeks at her new school and had big dreams for the future, which included plans to join the military.

In a tribute on social media, Scarlett’s aunt, Heather Stich, described the teen as a “beautiful, thoughtful, kind-hearted, hilariously goofy” girl. Another family member, Mary Evelyn Stich, echoed the sweet description of her cousin.

“Scarlett was wonderfully goofy, silly, and full of life,” wrote Mary Evelyn on a GoFundMe page, which has raised than $12,000 for the Durden family. “She was the kind of person who could make you laugh even on a hard day.”

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Meanwhile, Janice says that Scarlett was a complete “daddy’s girl” and was fiercely protective of her younger sister.

“They may have fought like some kids do,” says the mom. “But the moment her sister would shed her tear, she was there.”

Since Scarlett’s death, her little sister has tried to be strong.

“Shaylee is trying. She’s putting a good face on and she’s talking about Sissy and laughing,” says Janice, who says her 12-year-old daughter has moved into her sister’s room, just to feel “closer” to her.

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A funeral for Scarlett is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 3.