Broken Hearts Can HealBroken Hearts Can Heal
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu Robinson talks with mother Kathy Nay about her daughter Burgundy’s heroin use, overdose and death, focusing on love, boundaries and grief. The conversation also touches on naloxone, the lack of immediate mental health support, and how Kathy channels her loss into helping other families.
1:09:13•19 Oct 2020
Broken Hearts, Strong Boundaries: A Mother’s Story of Loss and Love
Episode Overview
- You can love your child fully while still refusing to fund their destructive choices, as shown by Kathy’s rule of only financing decisions she believes are healthy.
- Parents often start from a place of complete unawareness about drugs and may have to learn basic information quickly just to understand what their child is using.
- Setting boundaries such as not allowing an actively using child into the home can protect younger children and still be combined with meeting in public places to maintain connection.
- Accessing timely mental health support after a death can be extremely difficult, which helps explain why many people self-medicate when formal help is delayed or unavailable.
- Turning personal loss into advocacy work, such as promoting naloxone and supporting other families, can provide purpose and a path toward healing.
“I love her. And I love everything about her. I just didn’t love what she chose to do.”
Witness the remarkable journeys of those who have faced addiction head-on. This conversation on Addict II Athlete brings together Coach Blu Robinson and bereaved mother Kathy Nay, who talks openly about losing her daughter Burgundy to a heroin overdose and what came after. The episode is aimed squarely at parents, partners and loved ones of people with addiction, as well as anyone in recovery who wants to understand the family side of the story.
You’ll hear Kathy describe how completely unprepared she felt at the start: she admits to googling basic questions like “what does heroin look like?” and “what do track marks look like?” just to make sense of what was happening. Kathy walks through Burgundy’s journey from high-achieving teenager to heroin use, the chaotic relationship with her boyfriend, and the impossible choices she faced as a mum.
Her boundary of “I finance good decisions” will hit home for many, as she explains how she tried to offer rehab, education and stability without funding active addiction. The conversation doesn’t shy away from the hardest moments – from the phone call telling her Burgundy had overdosed to the image of her daughter being taken away in a body bag. Yet it also highlights what healing can look like.
Kathy talks about choosing not to hate her daughter’s boyfriend, becoming involved with Utah Naloxone, and turning her grief into practical support for other families, including crisis-response ideas and plans to train as an interventionist. Coach Blu keeps the tone warm and honest, asking the questions many parents are afraid to say out loud, while offering perspective from his clinical and coaching background.
If you’re a parent worrying about your child, or someone trying to support a loved one through addiction, this episode gives you company, language, and permission to set boundaries without withdrawing love. How might you “finance good decisions” in your own family?
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