Keira Dascoli-Guymer remembered after sudden death

The heartbroken mother of a Sunshine Coast teen and roller derby team member says she is being remembered as “the sweetest person you could meet” after her sudden death.

Tributes are flowing for Keira Dascoli-Guymer, 18, who died suddenly in June. Photo: Contributed

The devastated mother of a Nambour teen and up-and-coming roller derby player has described her late daughter as “the sweetest person you could meet” after her sudden death.

Keira Dascoli-Guymer, 18, suddenly collapsed and went into an unexplained cardiac arrest early on June 17, 2023.

She was rushed to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and spent the next 10 days in the Intensive Care Unit before her family had to make the devastating decision to switch off her life support on June 27.

Mother Lisa Guymer got the dreaded phone call early in the morning, and said every possible scenario was running through her head.

She said her daughter was perfectly healthy but her cause of death was never determined.

“She didn’t have a heart attack … her heart just stopped and they don’t know why,” she said.

Tributes are flowing for Keira Dascoli-Guymer, who died suddenly in June 2023. Photos: Contributed

“It’s hard to try and accept they don’t know, and we may never know.”

She said four of Keira’s organs had been donated to people after her death, something which mattered a lot in their family after their second daughter, Elki, was diagnosed with Leukaemia at a young age.

“(Elki) required a lot of donations from other people … it’s a gift that is priceless,” she said.

Mrs Guymer described Keira, who was the eldest of three girls, as an introvert with a “unique personality on the sombre side”, who felt very comfortable around things like Halloween.

The only time Keira was truly bubbly was around her younger sisters, she said. The three shared a close bond.

“She was the sweetest person you could meet who cared very much about the people around her, but she was always a little bit of an oddball,” she said.

But Keira found her people when she donned a pair of skates and take up roller derby.

Keira Dascoli-Guymer (red helmet) with her sisters Elki (purple) and Ziani (green). Photos: Contributed

“Roller derby is generally a sport that is full of outcasts and people who have their own unique personalities, and very caring people,” Mrs Guymer said.

“Once (Keira joined the sport) she finally felt she fit in.”

Keira took up rollerskating during the early days of the Covid pandemic in 2020, Mrs Guymer said, but taught herself to skate by watching YouTube videos.

She, along with her younger sisters, then joined the Coastal junior roller derby team but Keira’s skill advanced quickly and she rose through the ranks to join the adults team before her 18th birthday.

Her derby name was Darla Damnation #275, which soon earned her the nickname “Darls” from her older teammates.

“She loved that she had a nickname and everyone was so accepting of her,” she said.

Keira had only graduated from Burnside State High in 2022, Mrs Guymer said, but did not have plans to attend university.

Keira Dascoli-Guymer (middle) at her formal in 2022. Pictured: Mum Lisa Guymer (top left) with her husband Javon Guymer (right) and Keira’s sisters Elki (bottom left) and Ziani (bottom right). Photos: Contributed

“She wanted to travel and she wanted to be free,” Mrs Guymer said.

In the wake of her death, two fundraisers to support Keira’s family and cover her funeral costs were created: a GoFundMe from Keira’s roller derby coach, and a skating fundraiser to be held at the Caloundra Rollerdrome on July 16.

At the time of publishing, the GoFundMe has reached $2070 of its $5000 goal.

Mrs Guymer said the family was overwhelmed by the support.

“It’s something we wish Keira could have seen,” she said.

Funeral details for Keira are yet to be confirmed.