At 7:30 in the morning on September 11th, Garrett woke up and sees his pregnant wife, Lauren, standing at the bedroom door swaying back and forth. Garrett leaped out of bed to Lauren’s side, and she began having a seizure. Once she had stopped seizing, Garrett was able to grab his phone from the side table. By the time he returned to Lauren, she had passed out. Garrett cradled her in his lap and called EMS. When Lauren regained consciousness, she didn’t recognize her husband. She looked at him as if she had seen a ghost and began exclaiming “who are you? What are you doing? Get away from me! Who are you?” Garrett tried to reassure her of who he was and keep her from getting up and further injuring herself.

When EMS arrived, they checked her blood pressure and it was 200/140. (Normal is 120/80.) While in the ambulance, her medical team decided that Lauren needed to have an emergency C-section immediately. The events leading up to and during the C-section are unclear to Lauren. She didn’t get to see her baby be born, she didn’t hear her cry, she didn’t even get to see her until the next day. She later found out that she had experienced two seizures that morning caused by eclampsia. 

Gianna was born at 25 weeks gestation, weighing one pound seven ounces, and was thirteen inches long.

Today, Gigi is nine weeks old, weighing five pounds one ounces. Her release date is undetermined at the moment as she has been struggling to get her breathing tube removed. Gianna's medical team have tried four times to see if she's ready to be without but her lungs just aren't ready yet. While in the neonatal intensive care unit, Gianna recently was diagnosed with an infection in her lungs. She has also recently undergone surgery to repair a small hole in her heart. 

Lauren and Garrett are devoted not only to their family but to their community as well. On top of having two jobs, Garrett volunteers to assist in coaching basketball. Lauren is always doing the most and spends hours cultivating an engaging environment where students are excited to learn. I know the future will be bright for having Lauren and Garrett's students in this world.  

Several employees of the district have reached out to offer their days off, but per current Round Rock ISD policy, that is not allowed. I am starting this petition to change that for Lauren, but also for people like her. Parents should not have to decide if they should save their paid time off or be at their child's surgery. 

To donate to the Wilkins Family, please go to: GoFundMe.com/giving-green-for-gigi or search "Giving Green for Gigi"