⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you’re not alone — help is available:
• Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
Naomi O’Byrne’s story spans 27 years of motherhood shaped by her daughter Sarah’s complex disabilities. What began as discovering developmental delays at five months old became a journey of medical appointments, seizures, and challenging behaviours that made traditional day placements impossible. Naomi worked full-time throughout, determined to give Sarah a mainstream childhood despite systemic resistance. When Sarah reached adulthood, Naomi’s health collapsed-she developed lymphoma while managing Sarah’s escalating behaviours-forcing a crisis call to emergency services. What followed was Sarah moving into a group home, then her own supported unit. Naomi grieved the loss of her primary role, struggled with empty-nester syndrome, and eventually recognised she had been holding Sarah back. Now, two years later, Sarah is thriving in her own home with 24-hour support, and Naomi is finding her own life again, planning retirement and rediscovering herself beyond caregiving.
Naomi O’Byrne is a mother, emergency management professional, and volunteer firefighter who has spent 27 years raising her daughter Sarah, who was born with intellectual and physical disabilities, genetic brain disorder, severe epilepsy, and scoliosis. She worked full-time throughout Sarah’s childhood, navigated school systems and disability support services, and two years ago made the decision to help Sarah move into her own supported unit, fundamentally reshaping both their lives.
In this Golden Threads conversation with Daniel Dougherty, Naomi shares the story behind the moments below.
🎙️ IN THIS CONVERSATION:
• Overprotection born from love can limit a person’s independence and growth.
🕒 CHAPTERS:
00:00 Before Sarah: who Naomi was
05:13 Sarah’s diagnosis: discovering complexity
12:41 Behaviour, judgment, and survival mode
16:54 Mainstream school and the limits of integration
21:05 Working full-time while caregiving: the dual life
28:34 The NDIS and finding alternatives to day care
33:07 Health crisis and the emergency call
37:10 The separation: Sarah moves out
41:17 Advice on asking for help
43:18 Reading behaviour as communication
46:19 The grief no one talks about
54:23 What’s next: retirement and reclaiming life
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Welcome.
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Kintsugi Heroes was created from a simple belief: every person has a story worth sharing, and sometimes the story we need to hear arrives exactly when we need it most.
Our name comes from the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with gold. Rather than hiding the cracks, they are honoured as part of the object’s history. We believe people are much the same. The experiences that challenge us, break us, shape us, and help us grow are often the very things that connect us to one another.
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