Parkinson bartender Ebony Bronwyn Taylor remembered by loved ones after sudden diabetes death

A Queensland family has shared their heartbreak after a 22-year-old woman died in her sleep without any warning.

Ebony Bronwyn Taylor. Picture: Supplied

Ebony Bronwyn Taylor was just 22 and seemed in good health when her aunt found her unconscious in bed after an overnight visit last Monday, November 27.

Her sudden death came as a complete shock to Ebony’s family despite the popular Parkinson bartender struggling with diabetes since she was a child.

Her aunt, Stacey Banks, said Ebony had stayed over at her home in Ipswich the night before after offering to help out with Ms Banks’ children.

“She had dinner, went to bed fine,” Ms Banks said.

“The next morning I actually sent my son (aged six) down to see if see was awake and he said she was still sleeping.

“We went downstairs later and that’s when we found her.”

Ms Banks said she called triple-0 as her husband frantically attempted resuscitation.

“By the time the ambos got there, they did work on her but it was already too late,” a devastated Ms Banks said.

Ebony had type one diabetes. Doctors believe she suffered a diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a serious complication triggered when the body cannot produce enough insulin.

Her mum, Susan Taylor, said she got the shock call while at work on Monday morning and dropped everything.

“When I got there they just had the breathing bag going,” Ms Taylor said.

“They declared her (dead) once I was in there.”

Ms Taylor said Ebony had struggled with diabetes since she was six but “liked to pretend she wasn’t a diabetic”.

“A few years ago she finally realised ‘hang on it’s not going anywhere’ and she started making the right choices,” she said.

Ebony Bronwyn Taylor. Picture: Supplied

Ms Banks said her niece had often been “in and out of hospital” and had been in a coma at one stage previously due to diabetes complications.

But she said there would usually be more signs something was wrong.

“Normally she won’t eat, she’s very tired – like can barely stand up,’’ she said.

“She didn’t have any of that the night before.

“We’re not sure why or how it happened this way.”

Ms Banks said Ebony had been well in the past six months after getting a new glucose monitoring device.

She had been working as a bartender at Logan Diggers in that time.

“We thought she was finally on track,” Ms Banks said.

“That a big part of diabetes, so many things can go wrong so easily.”

Ms Taylor said her daughter’s death was the second recent diabetes death in the family.

Her brother, Ebony’s uncle, died of type one diabetes last year.

“It’s just crap. There’s not much I can say about it,” Ms Taylor said.

“I’m sad, I’m angry. I keep hoping it’s a bad dream and it’s not real.”

Ms Taylor was still able to smile and laugh as she described her daughter’s impact on her loved ones.

“She was happy, she was loud, she swore like a trooper,” she said.

“She loved bartending because she just loved talking to people. Anywhere she went she just made a friend.”

Ms Banks said she would remember her niece as someone who would “drop anything for her family”.

“She’d go to my kids’ performances, she’d buy them stuff even if she had no money, she was just that kind of girl,” she said.

She said Christmas would be a difficult time for the family, particularly since Ebony had loved the festive season.

Ms Banks has started a GoFundMe to help her sister pay for Ebony’s funeral. It has already raised more than $2000.

“We couldn’t believe it,” Ms Banks said.

She said any extra funds raised would be donated to diabetes researcher JDRF.

Donations can be made to the family here.