A man on his way to his last chemotherapy treatment won a $200,000 lottery prize, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.
Ronnie Foster from Pink Hill, North Carolina, said he first purchased a $1 ticket and won a measly $5. Last minute, he decided to trade in the $5 for two more tickets.
When he scratched the first one, he won nothing. But then he scratched the second ticket.
“I saw all those zeroes and I froze,” Foster told the lottery. “I didn’t believe it until I gave it to the clerk at the counter to scan. When it showed, ‘Go to lottery headquarters,’ I started shaking. I couldn’t believe it.”
Foster, a retired Department of Transportation worker, is battling colon cancer and nearing the end of his treatment. The lottery win made a good day an even better one.
“I was already happy because it was my last round of chemo,” said Foster. “Winning this made it my lucky day.”
While Foster said he had medical insurance, a part of the the lottery win will go towards paying off some of the treatment costs that weren’t covered by his policy. The rest will be saved “for the future.”
After taxes, Foster took home $141,501. The lucky winner claimed his prized on Friday.
According to the lottery, sales raise over $700 million a year, which goes toward supporting education programs across the state.