Hamilton woman wins $250K lottery prize year after son’s death: ‘RIGHT THERE WITH ME’
· Toronto Sun
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A Hamilton woman is celebrating a significant yet “bittersweet” lottery win.
Laura W. admitted she rarely plays the lottery, but when she does, she opts for scratch tickets.
Now she’s celebrating her first big win — $250,000, a top prize on a Wild Multipliers ticket.
“My son passed away a year ago, and it was the worst time of my life,” she revealed while picking up her winnings at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto.
“October marks one year since his passing, so this win is especially emotional for me.”
Light as a feather
The 64-year-old shared what may have been a sign of big things to come.
“A few days before winning, I was in my bedroom getting ready for bed when I suddenly noticed a white feather floating through the room,” Laura recounted.
“When I saw it, a sense of calm came over me,” she continued. “I didn’t think much of it at the time, but looking back now, it feels like such a special moment.”
A couple of days later, Laura bought the scratcher.
“This ticket seemed to be calling out to me,” she said, and after purchasing it, she didn’t even wait and scratched it right there in the store.
When she realized she won the top prize, Laura said she couldn’t stop crying.
“I was shaking and felt like I was going to faint. I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself. It felt like I was floating on a cloud,” she recalled.
Sharing the news
Laura rushed home and immediately told her husband, who was “completely shocked” and didn’t believe her until she showed him the ticket.
Laura plans to save and invest her winnings, but also treat herself to some new clothes and explore more of Canada with a “little trip out east.”
“Never in a million years did I think something like this would happen to me. If someone told me I’d win the lottery one day, I would’ve laughed and said, ‘Keep dreaming!’ but here I am,” Laura said, but went on to say how “incredibly grateful” she is by the life-changing win.
“Losing my son has been the hardest thing in my life, and while nothing can ever replace him, this experience has brought me a sense of comfort I can’t quite explain.”
She added: “Looking back, I felt as though my son was right there with me. I was overwhelmed with emotion, yet somehow, even in all that excitement, I felt a sense of peace just like when I saw that feather in my room.”