As many of you know, last week Cliff experienced a life-altering event and remains on life support. While Molly was in Florida with her family taking baby Pierce to see the ocean for the first time, Cliff stayed behind to work. However, Cliff started to not feel well and thought he was coming down with the flu. After talking to him, Molly very thoughtfully Door Dashed him some Gatorade so he could rest and get some fluids in. Only when the Door Dasher arrived, Molly could hear from their Ring doorbell camera that Millie, their dog, was going crazy, but nobody answered the door. Molly immediately tried to reach Cliff and when he did not answer, she called the police to do a wellness check. When the police arrived, they found Cliff unresponsive. They quickly called EMS and by the time the squad arrived, Cliff was in full cardiac arrest. Cliff was in DKA, a life-threatening emergency complication of diabetes. His blood sugar had gotten so high it was undetectable. Once at the hospital, he was maxed out on blood pressure medications and ventilator settings. All of this was happening while Molly was trying desperately to get home from Florida, taking any flights that would get her closer. She went to Baltimore first and then to Columbus while receiving unimaginable updates along the way. Since then, Cliff has remained in the ICU in very critical condition. Molly has stayed at his bedside while their family and friends have helped with Baby Pierce.

Cliff and Molly co-own a small business (Leo’s) near OSU’s campus, and Molly is a Nursing Professor at Ohio State, teaching clinicals at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. They are two of the kindest, most resilient people you will ever encounter. After years of failed IVF and two devastating adoption failures — both times a birth mother changed her mind after the baby was born — they finally welcomed their son Pierce into their family. Pierce was born prematurely with developmental challenges of his own, but Cliff and Molly never hesitated. After several weeks in the NICU, they brought him home and have poured their whole hearts into him. To see Pierce today, you would never guess what a rough start he had. He is truly a testament to the power of faith and love. Now, just 15 months later, they face yet another unimaginable journey. We are praying this reaches enough people to show them, once again, that love prevails. — Heather Passerini, friend of Molly

We have created this GoFundMe to help lessen the immense mental and emotional burden that accompanies the accumulating cost of emergency medicine, emergency travel, ICU care, loss of work, lost wages, depleted PTO, and extensive rehabilitation. All contributions will go directly to covering these insurmountable expenses. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you so much for considering.