NEW YORK — Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published on May 6, 2020.
When we first met the Longville family last May, their story captured Northeast Ohio’s hearts. That’s because 12 of their family members are front line workers with a roster that includes five nurses, three occupational or respiratory therapists, an anesthesiologist, a pharmacist and two firefighters.
When NBC heard their story, they felt the Longville family was the perfect fit to close out their week-long focus on Cleveland during the "Reopening America" series on Today. Eight of them joined the virtual Today plaza Friday to showcase their family on national TV, which you can watch in the player below:
RELATED: 12 members of the same Northeast Ohio family serve as frontline workers during COVID-19 pandemic
One of the family members, an occupational therapist, has five children who are among those front line workers.
“I’m from a very big family, and my mom and dad really taught us and instilled in us to take care of one another,” she said on Today. “I think we just kind of spread that out to helping and taking care of people that we don’t even know.”
Another family member, who works as a pediatric ICU nurse explained how they support each other through the difficult times.
RELATED: Al Roker helps 3News with emotional surprise as Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest nurse gets $15,000 check
“We all just try to keep in touch with each other and we can all lean on each other when we have tough times,” she said. “We can all relate to the experiences we have, so we try and plan like family Zooms and game nights and stuff like that.”
But then… Al Roker had a special surprise for the Longville family: All of the workers were getting a free pair of tickets to a Cleveland Indians home game this season.
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published on May 5, 2021.