Mom used ‘life savings’ for daughter’s cancer treatment. Now she won $2M in lottery

A mom who spent her life savings helping pay for her daughter’s cancer treatment won $2 million in the Florida lottery.

Geraldine Gimblet bought the last lottery ticket at a Lakeland gas station the day after her daughter finished her final round of cancer treatment, according to an April 7 news release from the Florida Lottery.

When she first approached the gas station clerk about the $2,000,000 Bonus Cashword Scratch-Off game, he told her there were no tickets left, the release says. She asked him to double check, though, because she likes the crossword games.

“He found the last one!” she told lottery officials and spent $10 on the ticket, according to the release.

Gimblet went with her daughter and granddaughter to claim her $2 million prize at the lottery headquarters in Tallahassee and took home a lump sum of $1,645,000, the release says.

Her daughter cried when she told lottery officials how her mother’s win had impacted her.

“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,” she told lottery officials, according to the release. “My mom had taken out her life savings to take care of me when I was sick. I’m just so happy for her.”

Lakeland is about 35 miles northeast of Tampa.

This story was originally published May 21, 2023 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Mom used ‘life savings’ for daughter’s cancer treatment. Now she won $2M in lottery."