Episode 108: Kelly Jackson Part 1

Written By Susie Gurley

Kelly Jackson is a mom who has vast personal experience with family members experiencing mental illness. In this episode of The Just A Mom Podcast, Kelly candidly shares her journey as a parent with a child with mental illness.  Kelly’s daughter started exhibiting symptoms of mental illness after she fell out of a swing and suffered a concussion as a second grader. Kelly chronicles her daughter’s mental health journey, which included in-patient psychiatric hospitalization, an intensive outpatient program and individual therapy. Kelly shares the enormous difficulties her daughter had with school and how making a big change was the best thing for her daughter. While her daughter still struggles with depression, she was diagnosed with Autism as well after a new psychiatric evaluation. Kelly shares how difficult the journey has been, the importance of building a great support network, and how she is teaching her daughter to advocate for herself.

Susie Gurley

Susie Stapp Gurley was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She married her college sweetheart, Dan Gurley, shortly after graduating from TCU with a degree in advertising and public relations. In her first career, Susie worked in college admissions and academic advising. Simultaneously she pursued a master’s degree from The University of Central Missouri in sociology and then worked for the Sedgwick County, KS Department of Aging as a case worker. Susie stepped away from the professional world in 1997 to become a stay-at-home mom. She spent the majority of the last 25 years as a wife, mother, and volunteer, primarily in her church and her three children’s schools and activities.

Susie became a mental health advocate after her youngest son became a teen spokesperson about his battle with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. In 2018, at the age of 15, Will founded the You Matter Festival, a music festival promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Will shared his personal mental health struggles with the 1,000-person crowd, which started his role as a local KC teen advocate for mental health. Because of Will’s involvement, Susie recorded a video #Zeroreasonswhy (https://zeroreasonswhy.org), a Kansas City area organization working to end teen suicide in the Johnson County, Kansas area. This video was viewed over 10,000 times, which was the impetus of the Just A Mom podcast. Susie decided that she needed to follow the brave trail blazed by her son and became an outspoken advocate for parents of children who struggle with mental illness. The Just a Mom podcast launched in September of 2022 and encourages parents to know that they are not alone and there is hope.

Susie served as the Executive Director of the You Matter Festival and is currently on the Friends of Johnson County Mental Health Board. Susie has grown three children, two daughters-in-law, and a son-in-law.

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Episode 107: Kim Botto, Author of Boundless Hope for Every Child