In remembrance of Jake Picker, the “Bartonella Babe”

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From Galaxy Diagnostics:

We misplaced a brilliant gentle within the Bartonella affected person neighborhood on January 20, 2024. Jake Picker, aka the Bartonella Babe, handed away peacefully Saturday night surrounded by family members at her house in California.

At age 30, Jake had struggled for over 5 years with a gastrointestinal sickness difficult by mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and Bartonella an infection. Her mom shared that Jake was more and more dropping tolerance for meals, leaving her at solely 79 kilos and in fixed ache.

After many months of intense battle, Jake determined to finish her torment by means of medical aid in dying (MAID), which is authorized in California as of 2016. It was a heart-breaking alternative for such a exceptional younger lady however one by which Jake discovered dignity and peace. She had the total help of her household and family members who had witnessed her excessive struggling.

If you’re experiencing ideas of suicide, please name the Suicide Lifeline in your area. Within the US, that quantity is 988.

Galaxy Diagnostics CEO Amanda Elam and Jake Picker talking collectively on a distant video.

Recollections by Amanda Elam, Galaxy Diagnostics Co-founder and CEO

After listening to the information, I seemed by means of my e mail conversations with Jake over time. We had so many optimistic interactions. I reached out to members of our staff with the information as properly. Our hearts are damaged by the lack of this distinctive younger affected person and advocate. With super humor and beauty, Jake educated and entertained us all and gave hope to many sufferers combating continual sickness and making an attempt to know how Bartonella an infection may play a task of their signs.

Jake was an distinctive and really proficient younger lady who turned her well being struggles into extraordinary illness advocacy. Regardless of the calls for of her sickness and her dedication to get well her well being, she, with two moms of sufferers created a Fb affected person discussion board, Breaking Down Bartonella, for others navigating Bartonella-associated continual sickness and produced an “edu-tainment” sequence, Bartonella Babe, on YouTube. Every part that Jake did, she approached with thoughtfulness and craft.

Amazingly, Jake took her abilities as an actor, powered by analysis coaching from her Masters in Gender, Coverage, and Inequalities from the London Faculty of Economics, and threw herself into illness advocacy to study every part she might concerning the science behind Bartonella, MCAS, and infection-associated continual sickness.

She reached out to me at Galaxy Diagnostics to share her thought for a video sequence and later for a affected person discussion board. I provided to help her efforts in any manner that might be useful, particularly as a information on Bartonella analysis publications and a connector to different scientific consultants.

Jake took me up on this supply and labored tirelessly with our staff and plenty of different consultants to study the science. Lo and behold, Jake proved to be an excellent pupil. She devoured each publication, requested a great deal of questions, and requested calls to work by means of trickier items of the obtainable science. We have been repeatedly impressed by Jake’s dedication to excellence and, truthfully, amazed by the entertaining video sequence that she created.

Our ideas are with Jake’s mom and different household and associates as they mourn her loss. We are going to deeply miss Jake’s brilliant spirit and management within the Bartonella neighborhood.

We’re endlessly grateful for all her contributions to constructing consciousness and educating the general public on the complexities of Bartonella-associated illness. Lastly, we are going to work more durable on our mission and in our work with illness advocates, researchers, and different companions to drive higher medical options for sufferers in Jake’s reminiscence.

Relaxation in Peace, pricey Jake. Your legacy lives on within the hearts and minds of many.

Republished from the Galaxy Diagnostics weblog.



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