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Mum wins £300k on lottery scratchcard after ‘awful’ year that saw husband die and home flooded
A mum is celebrating winning £300,000 on a lottery scratchcard – after an ‘awful’ year in which she lost her husband, spent six weeks in hospital and her home flooded. Caroline Walsh uncovered her jackpot on the Super 7s scratchcard as she was waiting for a doctor’s appointment.
Caroline lost her husband Mike to cancer in February 2021. The shock of losing her husband of 34 years triggered a lupus attack for the mum-of-two who ended up spending six weeks in hospital – and while she was there, her bungalow flooded, leading to months of further disruption.
Caroline, 58, will share the win with her children, Wales Online reports. She said: “Thank goodness the doctor didn’t take my blood pressure in the appointment, it would have been through the roof!
“I wouldn’t have been able to tell her what was causing it because I wanted my sons to be the first to know. I spoke to my sons as soon as I got out of the surgery and they couldn’t believe it!
“They are both grown up and have children of their own so, the money will make such a difference to all of us.”
The scratchcard was bought in Griffithstown as a family syndicate. Caroline’s eldest son Chris, 40, a ward manager at a hospital in the north of England, hopes to put the money towards a family holiday for his partner and two children following a tough two years working through the pandemic.
He said: “I couldn’t believe it when my mum called, I was absolutely ecstatic. £100,000 is an amazing amount of money and I can’t wait to put it towards a family holiday and plenty of treats for my partner and our children.”
The win follows a difficult time for the family after Mike’s death. Caroline, from Pontypool, said, “Mike and I always used to play the National Lottery together and talk about what we’d do if we won. He would have loved all of this.
“He always said he wanted us to move to Spain if we won but for now, I think he’ll be happy knowing that I’m going to be taken care of.”
Caroline, who worked as a school lollipop lady for 21 years before being forced to retire early due to ill health, said, “Last year was awful but things are definitely improving. The first thing I’m going to do is transform my garden. I want to make it into a space that’s easy to manage and somewhere I can enjoy when the sun shines.
“I’ve already bought some little treats for my grandchildren and I’m going to put some money aside for all of them. My husband and I have had a caravan for years in Brean Sands in Somerset. We had such a lovely community of friends there and I’m looking forward to going back to celebrate in a place where I have such happy memories.”