Online exclusive:Recovering from tragedy
Lucas gets a second chance at life and love
By Harry Minium '77
When he found his wife listless on their bathroom floor on Sept. 21, 2014, Tony Lucas called 911 and began performing CPR in a desperate effort to bring her back to life.
The EMT crew quickly arrived and took over, but 10 minutes later, Sarita Lucas was pronounced dead. She was 33 years old.
She died of complications related to her pregnancy. She was six months pregnant with a girl whom they planned to name Claire.
Lucas, who'd known Sarita since his freshman year in college, had heard how others let grief destroy their lives. That isn't me, he said. He got into counseling and told himself that someday he would be happy again.
He was so right.
Lucas, now an assistant football coach at ODU, got remarried two years ago, to Natasha Harrison, a friend from college who came to his aid after Sarita's death. Not only is he a husband again, he's also a father.
On May 15, Natasha gave birth to 7-pound, 2-ounce Sage. Her dad can't stop smiling every time he holds her.
His is a remarkable story of courage, religious faith and the power of finding love again.
Then an assistant football coach at the University of Delaware, Lucas returned to work, to his colleagues' surprise, a week after Sarita's death. Eric Ziady, the athletic director, urged him to see a social worker.
He reluctantly agreed. "I allowed myself to be open and share everything I was thinking," Lucas said.
When Natasha Harrison heard of Lucas' loss, she immediately called him. She was a doctor at West Virginia University. "I felt like this was my chance to be a friend to him when he needed one."
They started as weekly calls, but they became more frequent. "I forgot how much I enjoyed our friendship and just what a good guy he is," she said.
Months after Sarita's death, he visited Natasha in Morgantown, "just to get away for a weekend." They were still just friends.
"All through our friendship I really didn't think he was that attractive," she said, laughing. "He had a girlfriend who became his wife, so I never looked at him that way. When I took the so-called blinders off, I realized he was everything I wanted in a partner."
They began dating in 2015, nearly a year after Sarita died, and got married in 2018. She stayed in Morgantown while he coached at Temple, Elon and then ODU. After she got pregnant in early 2020, she moved to Norfolk.
Watching his daughter being born and cutting her cord was a spiritual experience for Lucas. He said a prayer of thanks as he held her for the first time.
"I do thank God for the life I've had. I feel so fortunate to be a father, so fortunate to be married to my best friend."
Harry Minium '77 is senior executive writer at Old Dominion University.