A woman who bravely battled breast cancer has been left in disbelief after purchasing a quick pick Lotto ticket and winning more than €134,000.
Anne-Marie Canavan, 46, underwent a double mastectomy in 2018 but her health setbacks continued the following year when she contracted pneumonia and slipped into a coma for a couple of days.
The Westmeath mum-of-one who is now cancer-free is enrolled in a care skills and care of the elderly course and was surrounded by her classmates when she found out she had won the windfall on Monday.
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She checked her ticket online after her tutor casually brought up it had been sold in her local shop, John Whelan’s in Kilbeggan.
After confirming she matched five numbers, Anne-Marie called Lotto HQ but said her pals were so loud in the background, the operator initially assumed she was in a syndicate.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Anne-Marie from Killbeggan, said: “I’m thrilled, I’m still in shock to this day.
“I Googled the number for last Saturday night’s Lotto and low and behold all these numbers started popping up and I stopped at the fourth number.
“I said to my colleague that I study with ‘please somebody check this ticket because I think I’ve won the Lottery’”.
But there were no wild celebrations to mark the momentous win, instead, Anne-Marie went home and got an early night.
She explained: “I came home and I got hugs from everybody from the town, they said ‘we believe Anne-Marie it was you that won the Lotto’ and I just said loud and proud ‘yes, it’s me, I won it’ and then I went to bed because I was exhausted.
“I had such a headache from the excitement, I was just exhausted. I have not got a clue about how I’m going to spend it, I have nothing planned at all.
“I’m just going to look after whoever looked after me.”
Anne-Marie said it wasn’t for the tutor mentioning the winning ticket, she would have “forgotten about it” and just “went home, fed the dogs, and gone to bed”.
She also revealed she only purchased the quick pick when she spotted a car outside the shop with the reg plate "222" on it which is her "angel number".
Anne-Marie said the last few years have been tough after the battles with her health but vowed she’ll have a good Christmas this year.
Annie-Marie said: “It was tough, I was diagnosed with borderline stage four breast cancer in May 2017. The tumour was 11 centimeters but I’m in the clear now.
“I was put on immediate chemotherapy for six months and after that, it was radiation for five weeks every day and then I had a double mastectomy in 2018.
“I’ve been recovering ever since but I fell into a coma in 2019. My sister had to do CPR on me on the sitting room floor and I was in ICU for two or three days. I went through an experience but I came back from it.
“It was touch and go but I fought and I’m here. I just remember saying ‘I don’t really feel well’ and then after that, I woke up in ICU. The last five years have been desperate.”
The inspirational woman said her desire to work with the elderly stems from her health scares over the last couple of years.
Anne-Maire said: “I know what it’s like to sit in their chair … I’m going to continue to keep working with the elderly because they need somebody and I need them.”
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