Help Jake on his journey to recovery

On behalf of Jake Gauntlett - we need your help. Please consider donating to our fundraiser 'Just for Jake':

Hi, this is Jake's family here writing to ask for your support to help Jakey on his journey to regain full health.

Recent update: Jake is (as at 29/05/2025) currently in the Gastrointestinal ward at The Royal Hampshire County Hospital (RHCH) Winchester, Hampshire, UK, supported by a nasogastric feeding tube due to extreme weight loss from 76 kg to 56 kg in 11 months resulting in malnutrition and a BMI of 15. His current health condition is classified as serious.

Until July 2021, Jake was a strong, healthy young man in his early twenties, enjoying rock climbing and gaining recognition as a talented self-taught musician (Instagram & Website ). Jake has always made an impression on everyone he met, through his musical compositions to his kindness and compassion for others. He loved life and looked forward to every day —until everything changed in June 2024 when he was admitted to Basingstoke Hospital with a history of ongoing chest pains and tachycardia/dysrhythmia.

Since then, his health has continued to deteriorate, and hospital admissions have become frequent. Between June 2024 and May 2025 Jake lost 25% of his body weight and currently weighs 56 kilos, he is now bed-bound, unable to work or function fully and suffering from an array of symptoms that make him entirely dependent on his family for care. He is no longer able to play the piano, guitar or sing, all of which have been his life-long passions.

Jake has been seen by a succession of specialists, both in the NHS and private sector, and has been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder; Dysautonomia; Post-vaccination syndrome; Long covid, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS); and as a result of these aligning symptoms, severe ME/CFS and PEM (Post Exertional Malaise).

Jake and his family have sought help through the NHS as much as possible but, in the pursuit to find out what's wrong, fees for private health care, tests, consultations and numerous therapies and supplements to relieve his symptoms have already started to mount up to the tune of £14,000. With further consultations and investigations we hope to get the help that Jake needs to support a full recovery and, ultimately, to rebuild his life.

Asking for help isn’t easy, but right now, Jakey needs all of our support and as so many of you have reached out through various channels offering help, we have decided to set up this Go Fund Me page 'Just for Jake'.

Jake's life is on hold, and we want him back! We miss him, as I am sure all of you do as friends, or family or as a follower of his music . Ideally, we would like to put in place a care package to support Jake.

With your help we can do this. Over the next 6-12 months the total estimated cost of treatments to help Jake on his recovery journey will be around £40,000, including living modifications for ground floor adaptions, and a wet room. Local builders, suppliers and tradesmen have all offered their services to just cover their costs.

If you would like to donate, even just a small amount, it would be so very much appreciated, by Jake, and would enable his quality of life to be improved and stabilised.

Thank you for reading this. Please share Jake's story.

Thank you from all of us who love him - he is our world XX