Geraldine Gimblet has so many blessings to count these days. The Lakeland, Florida, woman recently won $2 million on a state lottery scratch-off ticket. And, as wild as it sounds, the huge cash jackpot likely ranks second behind another major victory. According to the Florida Lottery, Gimblet’s daughter experienced a major milestone just the day before her mom’s lottery win.
“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 (who lottery officials did not identify) said in the press release.
According to Gimblet’s daughter, her mother drained her life savings to pay for medical expenses.
Florida Lottery shared an image of its most recent millionaire and some of her biggest cheerleaders on its Twitter account.
When Geraldine Gimblet of #Lakeland picked up the last $2,000,000 BONUS CASHWORD Scratch-Off game, her passion for crossword games paid off to the tune of a $2 million-dollar top prize, but that’s just the beginning of a truly, winning story!
https://t.co/q5mFPaUHR4 pic.twitter.com/mv55B9zmz9
— Florida Lottery (@floridalottery) April 7, 2023
Gimblet’s daughter and granddaughter made the trip with Geraldine to claim her lump-sum prize of $1,645,000. Florida Lottery Chief of Staff Reggie Dixon got in on the photo, as well, after hearing the family’s inspiring story.
The win almost didn’t happen, though. Gimblet told the Florida Lottery she stopped by Pipkin Road Beverage Castle to pick up one of her favorite $10 scratch-off tickets. But, initially, she got bad news from the person behind the counter.
“At first the gas station clerk thought there were no tickets left, but I asked him to double check because I like the crossword games the best,” she said, according to the press release. “He found the last one!”
Gimblet has not shared her plans for the money or talked with anyone else besides lottery officials. But, many people on social media have offered congratulations to the selfless mother who gave everything she had to support her daughter.
“Congratulations!!!! You were selfless in your giving and got more than you expected in return,” shared Twitter user @willingfollower. “God bless you and your family.”
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.
