Elizabeth Stevens set out on February 11th 2014 to restock her husband's supply of popsicles.
Tom Stevens, 70, was diagnosed with lung cancer a few weeks prior, and the popsicles helped soothe his throat. This should have been a regular store run but something compelled Mrs Stevens to go and buy some lottery tickets. She is a regular player of the Ohio Lottery but as of late had not been buying too many tickets because the couple was struggling to get by.
Since Tom started receiving medical treatment for his cancer the couple have managed to just get by, telling FOX 8 that "a lot of times, we just had money to scrimp through". The couple who have five daughters, fourteen grandchildren and one great grandchild were often struggling to pay for the parking at the hospital where Tom was receiving treatment. The ominous presence of the mounting medical bills began to take its toll on the Stevens but they remained focused on Tom's treatment and recovery, placing his wellbeing above all and they just couldn't put a price on Tom's health. "I want to live. I want to live for her," Tom said with a tear in his eye. After buying the tickets and the popsicles, Elizabeth walked out the store and saw a penny face up on the floor and picked it up.
See a penny, pick it up and all day you'll have good luck too cheesy and too cliché to be true, right? It was this penny that was used to scratch the $5 Special Edition Cashword scratch-off lottery ticket and it really was a lucky penny! After sitting at the kitchen table and scratching the cards, Elizabeth went back to the store to see if she'd won.
"I said to the lady, I said I think I got a winner, but I really don't know how much. So she put the ticket where it says 'winner, winner, winner' and she goes - 100-thousand dollars," Elizabeth said.
The couple will no longer be worrying about paying for parking and a huge weight has been lifted off their shoulders. "I have heart problems. He has the cancer. He's had strokes. After he's all recuperated I told him we're gonna do something. We have to," said Elizabeth. The couple plan on paying off their car and taking a vacation to finally relax and unwind. And to think that all of this would not have happened without the last minute trip to the store to get popsicles, and of course that lucky penny!
