Woman Wins Lottery After Clearing Life Savings For Daughter's Cancer Treatment: 'The Best Winning Lottery Story' Geraldine Gimblet of Lakeland, Florida, was in for the surprise of her life when she bought a scratch-off ticket at her local convenience store.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
It's a well-deserved win.
A lucky lottery winner in Lakeland, Florida, claimed a $2 million winning prize off a $10 scratch-off ticket on April 7, choosing to take her earnings in a lump sum delivery of $1.645 million.
When Geraldine Gimblet bought the scratcher, she was having a difficult time, as her daughter had just finished treatment for breast cancer.
Related: Man Scores Winning Lottery Ticket After Being Cut In Line
"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," Gimblet's daughter told the Florida Lottery. "My mom had taken out her life savings to take care of me when I was sick. I'm just so happy for her!"
"Ringing the bell" happens when a patient completes a prescribed course of treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation.
Many took to social media to congratulate Gimblet on her big win.
Congratulations!!!! You were selfless in your giving, and got more than you expected in return. God bless you and your family
— Da'Velle (@willingfollower) April 9, 2023
Congratulations and thank you for being the kind of parent that knows it's a lifelong commitment and includes sacrifice.... Good luck to you and your family
— GndCab collc (@gndcab) April 9, 2023
Congratulations to you abd your family. You have the best winning lottery story.
— Tracie D. (@Tadbit1) April 11, 2023
Pipkin Road Beverage Castle, the convenience store where Gimblet purchased the winning ticket, will receive a $2,000 prize for selling the winning numbers.
The Florida Lottery estimates games played in the state have paid out over $85.8 billion to winners and have made over 3,500 players millionaires.
Gimblet wasn't the only one winning big in recent lottery drawings.
Earlier this month, 61-year-old Earl Lape of Iowa purchased a winning $40 million jackpot ticket — but didn't believe that he had actually won because he had ironically purchased the ticket on April 1, a.k.a. April Fools' Day.
"I thought it was a joke," Lape said, per the Associated Press.
