Mum who used life savings to pay for daughter's cancer treatment wins £1.6m lottery
A mum in the US who used her life savings to help out her daughter when she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer has become a millionaire after winning the lottery.
Geraldine Gimblet, from Polk County in Florida, bought herself a '$2,000,000 Bonus Cashword’ scratchcard at a local gas station.
Poignantly, just one day before, her daughter walked out of hospital after ringing the bell to mark the end of her final cancer treatment - which she had used her 'life savings' to help with.
When Gimblet asked for the $10 (£8) scratchcard, she was told there were no tickets left at the gas station.
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However, she asked the attendant to check again, and, lo and behold, he found one last card.
In an incredible twist of fate, the scratchcard ended up being a winning one, and Gimblet scooped a $2 million (£1.6 million) jackpot.
She said: "At first the gas station clerk thought there were no tickets left, but I asked him to double check because I like the crossword games the best. He found the last one.”
Gimblet claimed her prize at the Florida Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee, deciding to take her winnings as a lump sum of $1,645,000 (£1.3m).
The store she bought it from - Pipkin Road Beverage Castle in Lakeland – will also receive a $2,000 (£1,600) bonus for selling the winning ticket.
The win will have come as a particular relief for Gimblet, who had taken out her life savings to help her daughter through breast cancer treatment.
And amazingly, her good news came just one day after her daughter finished being treated at the hospital.
Her daughter - who was not named by Florida Lottery - told lottery officials that she was ‘just so happy’ for her mum, after everything she’d done for her.
“The day before my mom bought this ticket, I rang the bell and walked out of the hospital after completing my last treatment for breast cancer,” she said.
“My mom had taken out her life savings to take care of me when I was sick. I'm just so happy for her.”
According to the Florida Lottery, the $2,000,000 Bonus Cashword game launched in May last year, with a total of eight $2 million cash prize up for grabs.
There are still three top prizes that are yet to be claimed, with other prizes ranging from $10 to $100,000 also up for grabs.
Jess Hardiman