Sandy Duncan Had Brain Surgery: Her Husband Penned Emotional Words for Her Birthday after 45 Years of Love

• The star of "The Sandy Duncan Show" turned 77 in February 2023!

• The actress had brain surgery, which left her blind in one eye but did not deprive her of her family.

• Now Sandy Duncan is a happy grandma who enjoys life with her beloved husband of 45 years.

Sandy Duncan turned 77 years old in February of 2023! The actress started working in entertainment when she was only 12, impressing audiences with her nimble dance moves and angelic voice. Over the years, she moved to bigger stages and filled more daring roles.

Eventually, the actress ended up as one of the most recognizable actresses of her time, landing roles in films like "$1,000,000 Duck," "Scooby-Doo," "The Sandy Duncan Show," and "The Muppets." Her career was soaring as high as she was in her role as the boy in the green tights in her stage rendition of "Peter Pan."

What's more impressive is that Sandy did much of this with less-than-optimal eyesight. As she was making a name for herself, tragedy struck in the form of a brain tumor. The actress started getting excruciating headaches when she turned 25. With the headaches came a blurriness in one eye.

Sandy also opened up about the differences between her stage and private personalities.

After being misdiagnosed for a while, Sandy eventually had brain surgery. While the doctors were rooting around in her head, they discovered a large, benign tumor on her eye. Sadly, as they tried to remove it, they severed her optic nerve, which left her completely blind in her left eye.

After Brain Surgery Left Her Sightless, Her Husband of 45 Years Is Still Crazy about Her

Sandy didn't let her loss of sight get her down. She persisted, continuing to work on her career and land bigger roles. Eventually, Sandy became the face of Peter Pan on stage, thrilling audiences with wild leaps and soaring songs. Impressively, she did all this with only one good eye. She recalled the effects of the surgery:

"I have holes and scars all over the place... I had to wear a wig for almost a year."

By the time 1980 rolled around, Sandy had starred in multiple award-winning films and shows, although her marriage to her second husband had also failed by that time. Luckily, the actress met Don Correia a while before the 80s. The two danced together in a nightclub act when they first met, and they tied the knot in 1980.

The couple is still happily married 45 years after they first said their vows. For Sandy's 77th birthday, her husband made a post on Facebook to mark the occasion. It read, "Celebrating the birth of the best thing that ever happened to me! Our 45th year together (2 years in sin, don't tell anyone). Where did the time go??"

The pair commented on life together and said it couldn't get better. As two professional dancers, they relate to each other a lot. In an interview, a reporter asked them, "What did it feel like to dance with each other? You just knew you were never going to fall."

Sandy Duncan Shows Her Grandkids: She Feels Blessed

Sandy and Don had two boys together, and the actress is also a proud grandmother. She and Don share Micheal Correia and Jeffrey Correia, and both have gone on to have kids of their own. While she raised her boys, Sandy continued working, starring in the show "The Hogan Family." She commented on work:

"I drop one of my children off at nursery school, and I'm home by 6:30 or 7. I have weekends off. It's not unreasonable. I don't want to miss all this."

Although Sandy's career slowed down slightly as she raised her boys, she still enjoyed working and still found parts. These days, Sandy devotes most of her time to her expanding family. Micheal shares two children with his wife, Liz Correia, while Jeffrey is in a committed relationship with Brian Brammer.

Don posted an image of the family on Facebook to celebrate Mothers' Day in 2021. The image showed the group happily smiling at the camera with their arms around each other. In the caption, Don wrote, "Happy mothers day to my beautiful wife ... I couldn't be more blessed!!"

Sandy also opened up about the differences between her stage and private personalities. Contrary to what her effervescent stage persona may suggest, the actress lives with depression, much like Bruce Springsteen. Happily, her family and career made her realize, "I've been very blessed on many levels."

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