Mt. Lebanon couple save others’ lives in separate instances nearly two months apart
Ken and Sheila Unico
Sheila Unico’s quick actions on the softball field helped save a 69-year-old man’s life in April.
As Sheila Unico settled into an episode of “Jeopardy” in the warmth of her Mt. Lebanon home on the brisk night of April 27, a feeling of going to support her husband in his second stint as a manager for a team in the South Hills Senior Softball League couldn’t escape her mind.
With layers of clothing and a blanket for good measure accompanying her to her seat in the nearly empty ballpark, Unico was in for the long haul of opening night.
Innings passed, temperatures dropped and Unico’s blanket wrapped around her tighter as she assumed the role of half the crowd remaining, an adventure that was nearing its end before the top of the fifth inning.
Watching intently, Unico immediately realized something was drastically wrong as the opposing pitcher lowered his head and collapsed to the dirt.
”When you’ve been in health care for that long, you just kind of know,” said Unico, a physical therapist at Allegheny General Hospital, who informed the other fan in attendance to dial 911.
After rushing to the field, Unico evaluated the man and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation for several minutes before police and emergency medical services arrived, reviving him on the first try with a defibrillator.
“I thought that he had just tripped over the pitching rubber, but she immediately knew something was wrong,” said her husband, Ken Unico. “We had 30 guys standing around watching her, and nobody else really knew what to do. I was just in awe watching her, watching everything she was doing and thinking to myself, what would have happened if she wasn’t there?”
Those weren’t the only questions that circulated through his mind. Ken Unico thought about his parents and the possibility of it happening to them.
“If they were to ever go down and I didn’t know what to do, I would never be able to forgive myself,” he said.
So Ken did what Sheila said he always does.
He asked.
“That’s how he earned the nickname ‘Curious Ken,’ because he always wants to know the details about everything,” said Sheila. “From how many times you push on the chest, to how to lock your hands and to where to push, Ken wanted to know everything until he could take a class and get certified.”
It didn’t take long for those questions to turn into must-have answers: Two months and two days later, Ken would find himself in a similar situation, when one of the truck drivers of a family-owned business returned from an out-of-town delivery.
“He went straight down,” said Ken. “As soon as he went down, it seemed to have just woken him back up. I told him to go to the hospital or see a doctor. I went to send him home, and after about five minutes his car was still there.”
After coming up from locking up the loading docks, the driver took another fall and began bleeding profusely after hitting his head.
“Everything that I saw was the same as that night of the softball game,” said Ken. “I told somebody to call 911 as he continued to turn purple, foam at the mouth and as his eyes began to bulge.”
Ken continued CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until police arrived 10 minutes later.
“If the order had been reversed, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did,” he said. “I would have just stood there in disbelief. I don’t think I would have had the confidence if I hadn’t seen my wife, or if we haven’t talked about it at great length.”
While the events saved the lives of two people, it also changed the lives of two more.
“It hits you a lot afterward,” said Sheila Unico. “The weeks following that were rough. It’s even hard to talk about now. You see their face in your mind for weeks on end. I just still can’t believe it. I always thought if this was to ever happen, it would probably be in a hospital setting, where other people are also trained and the crash cart is down the hall. I never thought I would have to do it out in the real world, especially on a pitcher’s mound.”
Both at 69 years old, the truck driver continues weekly therapy, and the pitcher is once again toeing the rubber.
Now, after many have taken the initiative to become CPR-certified, including Ken, the Unicos know the importance of acting at a moment’s notice.
“Be prepared for the unexpected and don’t be afraid to act,” said Sheila. “It was three things: instinct, training and the grade of God. For me to even go to that game and to stay there as long as I did, you have to give credit to the grace of God.”