Man struggling to pay wife's medical bills bought $5 scratch-offs at a gas station. It changed their life

They say the universe moves in unexpected ways, and the man who won a life-changing jackpot amidst his wife's treatment can vouch for it. During a medical visit, he bought a few lottery tickets, which he later realized were, in fact, a blessing in disguise, the News 5 WCYB reported.

The man had purchased a couple of $5 scratch-offs, including the last 'Best of 7's' ticket. Later, when he scratched the tickets at home, he was shocked to discover that he had won the $500,000 prize. The Ohio man immediately informed his wife about it, and she just couldn't believe him. "She looked at me funny and said, 'Did you fall?' I said no, I’m in shock! I think I won half a million dollars!" he recalled. To be doubly sure, the man scanned his ticket on the Ohio Lottery mobile app and discovered that he would receive $360,000 after paying for mandatory state and federal taxes. The winner, who's still in shock, said the jackpot came as a blessing, as he had been quite overwhelmed with his wife's medical bills. Further, the man shared that he would use some of the winnings to cover the medical bills and would use the rest to plan for something with his wife once she feels better. "I still can’t believe it. I still think it’s a dream," he added. Talking further about his win, the man gave full credit to his personal strategy, explaining, "I like the end of the roll; I’ll buy in the middle too, but I always liked the end of the roll best."

Despite the challenging situation, the man continued to purchase lottery tickets, which may seem outlandish to many, but research says there’s real psychology behind that decision. After conducting multiple experiments, researchers Shujing Liang, Dajun Ye, and Yuejun Liu found that people, surprisingly, take more risks when they feel like they don't have enough. In the story, the man was struggling with the medical bills and had no idea what could possibly help him get out of the situation. He went ahead and did what seemed like the next 'best idea' — buy lottery tickets. Thankfully, that worked, and the Ohio man won the amount that was enough to pay the hospital bills. 

Meanwhile, reacting to the Ohio man's story, Brenda Santiago commented, "Yes, that was a great blessing... now your wife can get the real top-notch care she needs... it's unfortunate that money has to buy the very best treatment... but you must be well deserving of it... "God bless!" Eileen Kaiser said, "Good for him! I'm sure it will come in handy for his wife's treatment that insurance doesn't cover." Another user on Facebook, Brandy Dintruff, wrote, "That's awesome! Hopefully, that helps the family so they can focus on fighting cancer. Even with insurance, cancer treatments end up costing thousands out of pocket. Congratulations to the winner!" Echoing the sentiments, NoCaller ID wrote, "God is good! He is so amazing! God bless this couple. May God heal his wife from cancer so they can enjoy their blessing together." Someone else, Chuckie Chino, wrote, "To anybody who buys a scratch-off ticket, that’s what you are hoping for. Congratulations!"

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