Inspiration and Connection from a Galorian: Kay Jewell Jackson

Some of the stories we have already heard from Galorians have been incredible. I really appreciate all the different people who have reached out to tell us their story. One person who has stood out is Kay Jewell Jackson. Kay is an incredibly strong person who has been through a LOT this year. In mid-March she was diagnosed with invasive glioma and was having a craniotomy one week later. Her brain tumor was removed and came back as cancerous, Astrocytoma grade II. 

At the moment Kay is facing down a litany of scans and the possibility that she will need to go through chemo-therapy and radiation if her cancer shows any signs of growth. However, Kay has managed to remain positive, and her incredible resilience through such adversity is inspiring. One source of her strength is her grandmother, Helen Farkas, who was a Holocaust survivor. The pain and tribulations that Helen managed to live through are hard to imagine. Her story is incredible and if you want to see her, and hear her speak, there are some interviews with her from several years ago on Youtube. Helen has been a tremendous source of inspiration for Kay as she battles cancer. Now, Kay is serving as an inspiration for us! Her involvement in Galora has been very encouraging, and the story of how she got involved is interesting as well.


Kay was born in Hawaii where there is such an abundance of fresh fruits that apparently people leave boxes of pineapples and mangos on their front lawns, which sounds amazing! It’s the exact kind of spirit that we are trying to build on Galora, and that is what attracted Kay to the site. I can honestly say I would probably take a lot more walks around my neighborhood if there were boxes of pineapples scattered around.

After living in Hawaii Kay spent the rest of her upbringing in Northern California, where there wasn’t the same atmosphere of community and sharing that Kay had grown accustomed to.  Naturally, she was excited when she saw that Galora is trying to build that same sense of community everywhere. Looking at her Facebook, Kay also seems like a very fun and outgoing person, and the kind of person you would want in your community. She reached out to us after she met up with another Galorian who has been featured in our blog: Soulbop! They got connected because of Soulbop’s cannabis plants, which Kay was able to use to help alleviate the pain that she has been experiencing. It is humbling and exciting to know that our platform got to connect these two and help Kay in a time when she is going through so much.

To carry that forward, I am going to link Kay’s fundraiser. She has significant medical bills at the moment, and of course is not able to work, so anything you can contribute would really help.