Mural honors memory of late Downey girl
The artist known as Bumblebee paints a mural at Downey Avenue and 4th Street, honoring the memory of Jaelyn Glaz. (PHOTO BY ALEX DOMINGUEZ)
DOWNEY – A new mural in Downtown Downey is spreading the message of a special little girl.
Jaelyn Glaz was a “little ball of fire;” a fighter. Most importantly, she was a source of joy, happiness, and inspiration to everyone she met.
“That smile, she could definitely literally melt anyone’s heart,” said Jaelyn’s mom, Jackie Glaz.
From the get-go though, Jaelyn’s life was not easy. She was born with serious health difficulties that required a three-organ transplant at only 16 months old. If anything was certain, it was that nothing was.
“They told us…’We don’t know how long you have with her, but you’ll have more time,’” said Glaz.
Glaz says her daughter “surpassed everyone’s expectations with a smile and a fighting, little happy attitude.”
“She ended up doing so amazing she started school here at Alameda Elementary for early education and she ended up starting kindergarten at Rio San Gabriel.”
But Jaelyn would soon find herself fighting again, caught in a catch-22: The medicine that kept her body from rejecting her transplants had also caused her to develop cancer.
“They told us, ‘There was no way she could survive this, I don’t know if you even want to have her try. We don’t know how much time she has, she may have a few months,’” said Glaz. “We sat down as a family with our two boys, Jonah and Jordan, and her, and explained everything that was going on, and we asked her ‘What do you want to do?’
“She was like, ‘I got this, I’m going to kick cancer’s butt.’”
Jaelyn underwent six months of chemotherapy treatments “with a happy attitude,” said Glaz, reaching a point of being considered cancer free. However, the cancer would unfortunately return – this time, more aggressively.
In her final months, Jaelyn was a central piece of the puzzle to the revamping of the Rio San Gabriel Elementary School Library, so much so that the principal at the time – David Cid – asked her to come up with a saying; a message to share with her friends.
She decided on: “Today be amazing… brave… strong… Be you.”
“She said ‘Everyone can be strong, everyone can be amazing, and everyone can be amazing, but the most important part is to be you,’” said Glaz. “So, she made the banner, and it hangs in the library still.”
Jaleyn died June 12, 2018. She was 8 years old, a week shy from her next birthday.
Looking for a way to both memorialize Jaelyn and spread her message, the Glaz’s turned to street muralist Bumblebeelovesyou.
“They just wanted something that when you look at it, you can’t help but smile,” said Bumblebee. “They said, you know, it was really important to them to see it everyday and, it takes you away to a better place kind of a thing.”
“She did so much amazing things for us: she helped us grow, she helped us be a family and stay united,” added Glaz. “We miss her every day, and she did everything she could to live her best life, and we want to show everyone that they need to live their best life and enjoy it because every day is a gift, and we want a little bit of her to be taken through everybody’s day just to show it’s worth fighting for.
The mural was put up over the course of several days this week on a wall at the intersection of Downey Avenue and 4th Street. It depicts a rainbow, dinosaur and unicorn, and Jaeyln’s wise-beyond-her-years message.
Father Joshua Glaz says commissioning the mural was the family’s way of honoring Jaelyn and giving back to the city.
“It’s everything she was,” he said. “From the dinosaur to the unicorn. She loved Jurassic Park, she loved dinosaurs. She loved everything, and she loved unicorns. She was happy; she was a ballerina and a dinosaur at the same time.”
He hopes those who see the mural heed its message to be amazing, brave and strong, saying “there’s no time not to be.”