Writer
While most people imagine buying sports cars, mansions, or designer clothes if they win the lottery, some winners purchase something even more valuable with their money: their lives.
While healthcare is the one thing that's almost impossible to do without, the costs are often prohibitive, especially if you're facing a serious medical emergency. Even with insurance, it's easy to find yourself drowning in debt after receiving treatment for a serious illness or injury.
While no one considers hospitals lucky, more than a few players have cashed winning tickets while recovering in their hospital beds. These are the true stories of winners who used their jackpots to live healthier lives.
Powerful medical care
In many respects, Cheng Saephan represents the American dream. He was born in Laos but moved to America in 1994, settling in Oregon. He made a career as a machinist and worked for an aerospace company, building a comfortable life for himself and his family, including two young children.
However, his life took a turn for the worse when he was diagnosed with cancer and was forced to spend his savings on medical care and treatments.
He ran low on money, felt he needed a miracle to survive, and hoped that playing Powerball might deliver him one. Before the drawing, he wrote his numbers on a piece of paper, placed them under his pillow, and prayed that they would win. “I need some help,” he told reporters, “I don't want to die yet unless I have done something for my family first.”
Saephan purchased $100 worth of tickets for the April 26, 2024 drawing at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, Oregon.
After buying the tickets, he sent a picture of them to his friend and joked that he was a billionaire now. Then he watched as his numbers were selected from the machine one by one, and suddenly, it wasn't a joke anymore.
When asked what the best part of winning was, he said, “I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” and added that he'd “find a good doctor for myself.”
He said that as a cancer patient, he wondered, “How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?”
Saephan chose the lump sum payout and collected $422 million after taxes. He said he intends to split that amount with his friend Laiza Chao, who chipped in to help him buy $100 worth of tickets.
Chao was on her way to work when Saephan called her and said, “You don't have to go anymore. We won the lottery; we won the jackpot!"
Saephan's prize was the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history.
Dance the night away
It was later in life when senior citizen Terri Picton-Clark discovered that she loved ballroom dancing.
She told reporters:
I watch Strictly [Come Dancing] every year, and every time I see those dancers at Blackpool, it just fills me with emotion. I wanted to be up there too but never believed it would actually ever happen.
What started as a hobby quickly became a passion when she won the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD) just two years after she first put on her dancing shoes. However, shortly after her big win, she had to abandon the dance floor due to heart issues and the expense of competing.
The idea of never dancing again depressed her, but between her health and the money she needed, she saw no path forward. Then she bought a Lucky Dip ticket from the UK National Lottery, and her life changed forever when she won one million pounds. She explained:
It wasn't without complications, and the recovery was a long road, but I never gave up hope - I always remained positive and believed that good things would come into my life.
After recovering from heart surgery, she resumed her dancing career and fulfilled her lifelong dream of dancing at the world-famous Blackpool Tower Ballroom, where Strictly Come Dancing is filmed.
I am a National Lottery winner, and now I am dancing at the world-famous Tower Ballroom. I feel like I've won the lottery twice!
Picton-Clark made a triumphant return to the dance floor in a custom-made dress that cost over $2,000. "And this just seemed like the perfect moment to buy my dream dresses and go out there in style. It is a day which will remain with me for the rest of my life."
Nurse you back to wealth
Earl Livingston's path to lottery riches started with a bad break, literally. The 87-year-old resident of Blackwood, New Jersey, was on his way to purchase a lottery ticket when he slipped and broke his hip.
As he lay recovering in the hospital, he told the nurses how disappointed he was that he couldn't buy a ticket for that week's drawing. They decided to lift his spirits by letting him join their hospital staff's Mega Millions lottery pool. Livingston bought in for $2 and was shocked when the pool's ticket hit for one million dollars.
Livingston's niece, Bobbie Mickle, was shocked by her Uncle's good fortune. "I didn't believe him when he first told us," she told reporters. "We just thought he was confused because they had him on painkillers. We were like, 'Uncle Earl, I think they thought you won the lottery, but you didn't win, right?'”
Because the prize was split between 141 different members of the pool, Livingston's share wasn't large, but the win still lifted his spirits as he went through a grueling rehab in the hospital.
"These people showed so much compassion,'' Mickle said. "He really wanted this lottery ticket. They even put the money in for him. It's just such a nice story."
When reached by reporters, Livingston added, “I want to thank everybody. I appreciate it very much, and God bless you and have a happy, happy, long life!”
Strength of a Viking
Usually, when someone is crying in a hospital, it means that something tragic has happened. However, in the case of Minnesota resident Debbie Bury, the sobbing her nurses heard were actually tears of joy.
Bury was in a tough place mentally when she was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Eden Praire. She was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor and was going to need invasive surgery to remove it.
Her friend visited to cheer her up and brought a gift with her. Bury was a lifelong fan of the Minnesota Vikings football team, so her friend gave her a Vikings-themed instant win ticket.
She scratched off the ticket and smiled because she thought she had won a football. Then her friend pointed out that she had actually won a far bigger prize: $100,000.
“I just balled. I just could not believe it. It was just amazing,” she told reporters.
When oncology nurse Andrea O'hearn heard the commotion in Bury's room, she was worried that something bad had happened. She ran into the room only to see everyone smiling.
O'hearn told reporters:
It's not all the time you get joyful surprises on the oncology floor. Just to see this is so different than what we see on the daily and we get to celebrate with you.
The win also gave Bury a strong sense of hope for her future. “It just felt like life is now going to be good,” she said. “It's just, it was meant to be.”
Her luck stretched beyond the lottery. Bury underwent surgery that successfully removed the tumor and which doctors believe will add years to your life.
Get healthy and get wealthy
Massachusetts resident Alexander McLeish was going through a tough time in the winter of 2021. The 62-year-old underwent a double bypass heart surgery, a grueling operation with a prolonged recovery period.
His friend sent him a get-well card with an extra bonus inside: a $5,000,000 100X Cashword instant win card. He started to scratch but texted his friend because the ticket startled him. The first three letters he uncovered were A-W-M, which were his initials.
He kept scratching and uncovered the last word on the bottom row. It read: HEART, which meant that he had matched enough words to win the million-dollar top prize.
While McLeish was happy to have won, he was worried that the excitement would upset his recently repaired heart. “I was calm and a little bit in disbelief,” he told reporters. “I just made sure I was breathing through my nose and out my mouth. I didn't want to test my heart too much.”
What made the situation even stranger was that this was the second time this same friend had bought him a winning lottery ticket. McLeish says that the friend sent him a lottery ticket for his birthday two years earlier that was worth $1,000. He even purchased both tickets at the same store, the Quickeez Beer, Wine and Convenience in Carver, Mass. McLeish said:
He goes, “I went back to that same store where I bought the $1,000 winner; I wasn't even going in that store if it weren't for buying you a ticket.”
He wanted to cash in the ticket immediately, but there was just one problem: he had scratched it on Thanksgiving Day, and the state lottery office was closed. So he put the ticket in a drawer and sat down with his family for a hearty turkey dinner.
The next day, he drove to the state lottery offices to redeem his ticket. McLeish chose the cash option and received $650,000 before taxes. He told reporters that he still plans to return to work once he's cleared by his doctors, but he's unsure what to do with the money.
He even said that he offered to buy his wife a new car, but she declined.
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