Unitas lives on….. December 18, 2006

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Sandy Unitas, the widow of Number 19, the Golden Arm…..Johnny U. of course. She lives in a beautifully decorated for Christmas home, north of Baltimore….Cozy….warm…scented candles, flowers….so pretty and clearly a home that is loved, punctuated by an incredible protrait of #19, his back to you standing perhaps on the sidelines. It hung in the Golden Arm restaurant..Sandy had it cleaned and restored, and it was rehung the night before John Unitas suffered a heart attack and died….but he saw it and loved it.
We were talking about her health troubles that happened this summer, heart trouble…just like Johnny…only hers was caught in time. It’s quite a tale, how she was called by Sister to Sister…a program that will happen in February, encouraging women to have their blood pressure, cholesterol and other things checked, because most women will die from heart disease. Great program, and they called Sandy to see if she would speak in front of a breakfast they were having, since her life has greatly been profoundly affected by heart disease, losing her husband who was her life love and best friend, to a heart attack in 2002. Sure she said, if they would help hok her up with some help because she wasn’t feeling too well…tired, depressed. Well what happened after that is just amazing…..suffice it to say she is still here because of that phone call.
It’s always such a pleasure meeting a woman like that (or man)…who’s really been thrown lots of loops by life, and yet they have the grace and strength to do what needs to be done, and keep moving forward. Sandy…You’re my hero! Keep up the good work……