A couple who won a £2 million lottery jackpot three days before finding out that their teenage son was clear of cancer have said the news was like "lifelong dreams coming true”.
John and Allison McDonald have described how their Lucky Dip ticket matched all six numbers to scoop the Lotto jackpot on Wednesday, December 18.
Three days later, Mr and Mrs McDonald, from Stockton on Tees, were given the news that their 15-year-old son, Ewan, had finally been given the all-clear after being treated for cancer all year.
Mr McDonald said: “It is just like all of our lifelong dreams came true in the space of three days.
“What a start to 2020. Everyone always dreams of winning the lottery at Christmas – and talks about how amazing this would be – but Allison and I never believed it would happen to us – and it has.
“And then to receive news that Ewan’s latest scans are all clear is just truly amazing. We are so thankful.
“2020 is certainly looking like being one amazing year for the three of us!”
Ewan was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in May last year and underwent chemotherapy treatment.
Both Mr McDonald, 62, a security officer who frequently worked 70-hour weeks, and Mrs McDonald, 49, who worked in an opticians, have now handed in their notices at work.
Mrs McDonald said: “This is just the most amazing feeling ever.”
Mr McDonald described how he checked his ticket while having a hot drink at work.
“As I continued to check, I realised I had matched all six. I was just in total shock,” he said.
“My legs were trembling as I called Camelot to check that what I was seeing was in fact right.”
He told a news conference in Yarm how he called his wife, who was at the dentist.
Mrs McDonald said that she saw a missed call on her phone.
She said: “I just thought, ‘Oh no, why is he calling me – something must be wrong, something terrible has happened, has something gone wrong with Ewan’.
“Never did I believe when I called him back he would be telling me we had won the Lotto jackpot.”
She said: “It is fantastic that this win has not only given us the financial security to buy a lovely new family home – but also time. We can both now afford to stop work and spend time with our family making memories – something we could only have ever dreamed of doing.”
The couple, who also have two other children and three grandchildren, bought their winning ticket from Asda in Portrack Lane, Stockton on Tees.
The winning numbers were 13, 15, 36, 44, 50 and 56.
