Hello, my name is Carrie Gardner, and I have created this Go Fund Me to raise money for my sister and her family.

My sweet sister, Crystal, has been battling Covid-19 the last two weeks. She was 27 weeks pregnant. She had to have a c-section while fully sedated, intubated, and on a ventilator in the ICU. She is still currently sedated and still sick. With baby Lily coming three months early and Crystal still sedated in the hospital, I had set up this fundraiser to help with medical bills and baby supplies! Currently, Crystal and Jeremy have none of the basic essentials at home for baby Lily since she arrived a little sooner than expected. Because she came so early, they did not get a baby shower. Some of the funds will be able to go towards the basic needs (car seat, diapers, wipes, preemie stuff) and will allow Crystal and Jeremy to pick out a few things for Lily later since Crystal is unable to at the moment. This fundraiser will be able to help Crystal and Jeremy get the essentials for baby Lily as she progresses and eventually comes home. It will also go towards Crystals and Lilys’ medical bills. Crystal has been sick for two weeks now, we’re praying she gets better soon and can meet her sweet baby girl!

If you’re able to financially help in any way and feel called to do so, it is incredibly appreciated! Most importantly, we continue to ask for your prayers! We serve an amazing God and we are witnessing Him heal and restore daily. I know Jeremy is overwhelmed with the love, support, and amount of people reaching out.

Please continue to prayer for Crystal and Jeremy’s other kids! They have four other amazing kids and they are doing shockingly good. Living their best life with their Aunts, Uncles, and cousins so Jeremy can be at the hospital when he needs to.  I believe God has and is protecting their little hearts and minds during this time in a miraculous way. Anybody with young children knows how many questions they ask and how curious they are about everything. That hasn’t been the case during this time which I am so thankful for. Jeremy did not want to rob them of experiencing God working through any situation (even tough ones like this) but he will be able to explain it to them just as well soon enough as they live out this season —and hopefully not until after mommy wakes up. Either way, God is protecting them and they are doing well. Everyones kindness and generosity has been amazing and you are all a blessing in his life and his family’s life! I will never be able to thank you all enough for the prayers and way you all have supported and loved my family during this hard time. We love you all and thank you so much!

Crystal and Lily Tomlinson’s Story:
Crystal had been breathing on her own, but her oxygen levels were not high enough for both her and the baby so she had to be intubated in order to allow her lungs to strengthen and not get more stressed. Even after being intubated, Crystals oxygen levels were still not what they needed to be. So the decision was made to deliver the baby. The idea was that they would be better functioning apart during this time than Crystal having to adequately breathe for and sustain for the both of them. We asked so many of you for your prayers as they prepared for a c-section. Sweet Lily Joy Tomlinson was born at 27 weeks on July 18, 2021. Crystal was fully sedated on the ventilator during delivery and afterwards. The following day Crystal had improved. Her lungs looked better and she was requiring a little less on the ventilator. Crystal is still fully sedated (going on a little over a week) but we have tons of hope she is nearing the end of that and can likely wake up soon. Please pray she is in a good state of mind and not immediately worried as she realizes she’s not pregnant anymore when she awakes whenever that ends up being. Please also pray over her kidneys as they are not functioning fully as they should. All in all she is improving each day so we’ll take these small steps and praise God for each one. My amazing brother-in-law, Jeremy, has been spending most of the past few days sitting with Lily. Mainly just talking to her, praying, thinking, and waiting as he gets updates and has conversations with medical teams about Crystal (and Lily). Being born 3-months early and all, Crystal and Jeremy didn’t have any names narrowed down, but had kind of talked about Lily. So Jeremy felt confident about that one. However, they did not have a middle name picked and he was trying to wait for Crystal to wake up so she could have real-time input on that! Unfortunately, Jeremy was not able to wait on Crystal, but he did choose a middle name. He thought how much joy Lily was bringing to a rather tough time— so her middle name is now ‘Joy’. Lily is doing really good. So good that they plan to remove her ventilator soon! They are going to remove her belly button tube as well, then Jeremy will be able to hold his sweet baby girl for the first time! Lily is progressing really well and all her levels and numbers are good. Crystal is progressing enough to begin weening her off the sedation so that has begun. Please continue to pray over Crystal and Lily. Thank you!