A man who suffered a string of bad luck suddenly found himself on the other side of fortune when a heart attack ultimately led to him winning not one, but two, lottery prizes.
Bill Morgan, then a truck driver, developed a heart condition after being injured in a car accident back in 1998.
His troubles worsened, however, when he suffered an allergic reaction to his cardiac medication which led to a devastating heart attack.
Bill, from Melbourne , Australia , was clinically dead for 14 minutes before being revived by medics. But even then, his situation was precarious, and he spent 15 days fighting for his life in a coma, the Daily Mail reports.
Incredibly, he went on to make a full recovery, despite fearing the worst, and was allegedly dubbed a “medical miracle” by doctors.
“When I was lying in hospital, I thought, gee, I might not survive this. I’m only 37 and, at 37, I’ve got so much to look forward to,” he told the media at the time.
Indeed, he was right. And within a year of his health ordeal was engaged to his future wife, had landed a new job and won a $30,000 (around £15,500) Toyota Corolla in the lottery, according to news.com.au .
Yet, if all this sounds extraordinary, it is nothing compared to what happened next.
Bill’s story was picked up by numerous news outlets with one local TV station asking him to re-enact it live on camera.
Reliving his lottery success, he picked up a scratchcard and, peeling back the foil with a coin, realised that he’d won again. But, this time, he’d scooped a much bigger prize.
“I just won $250,000 (around £130,000). I’m not joking,” he said breathlessly , brandishing the ticket for all to see.
After growing tearful and having to grip onto a shelf for support, he then joked: “I think I’ll have another heart attack.”
The moving moment continues to do the rounds on social media years later, with viewers delighting in Bill’s remarkable twist of fate.
In 2020, the Daily Mail tracked him down to see what the 20-odd years had been like following his dramatic stint in the limelight.
“Twelve months before I had the win, my heart stopped and my life was over for 14 minutes and 38 seconds,” he told the paper.
“Every week, I [bought] my Tattslotto and a $5 scratchie — I still do it now actually. So I buy this Scratchie [and I say] out loud ‘I think I’ve won a car’ and sure enough I had.
He then admitted: “It wasn’t that big of a deal to me until the newspapers and TV stations got wind of it. They thought it was a good luck story, so that’s how it all started.”
Addressing his shock second lottery win, he said the TV station thought he was messing about when he announced that he’d bagged a cool $250,000.
“I said, ‘I’m not joking’ and all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought I was going to have another heart attack there and then,” he said.
Still, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Bill, and he acknowledged that heart problems, as well as arthritis, have continued to take their toll on his health.
Nevertheless, he stressed: “Every day I get up and put on my shoes, and even if I’m not real well I have a shuffle down the road and smell the roses, look at the sun and think about how lucky I am.
“I won $250,000. The house I live in, I own. I’ve got a nice enough car that I own. Sure, I had to retire because the heart got too much and I’m riddled with arthritis, but it was all for the best.”
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