Chelmsford couple wins almost $370K in Sudbury hospital 50/50 draw

A couple from the Greater Sudbury community of Chelmsford has won almost $370,00, the jackpot in September’s 50/50 draw in support of Health Sciences North (HSN).

Heather Luttrell and husband Mike Aho from the Greater Sudbury community of Chelmsford has won$369,982, the jackpot in September’s 50/50 draw in support of Health Sciences North. (Supplied/Health Sciences North Foundation)

The HSN Foundation announced that Heather Luttrell and Mike Aho had won the $369,982 grand prize on Friday.

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Initially Heather had missed the call from the foundation’s Shane Gordon, who left her a voicemail.

“I was grabbing an early lunch when my phone started to go off,” Luttrell said in a release.

“I get work calls all the time so I didn’t think anything of it.”

She said the phone then kept going off and she received a voicemail notification.

“When I checked my messages and saw it was about the 50/50, I didn’t even let the message finish before I hung up and called back,” Luttrell said.

“My heart rate was up and I already had tears in my eyes before I got the good news.”

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‘Oh my god’

When Luttrell spoke with Gordon he asked if she knew why he might be calling and replied “cause I [expletive] won,” in a video posted to social media.

“Are you kidding me,” she continued.

“Oh my god.”

Luttrell described the feeling as amazing while on the phone with the HSN foundation representative and said her dog was “freaking out” even though she did not know what was going on.

She then called her husband and they both attended HSN to claim their prize.

The couple told Gordon they were doing amazing and the call “totally changed” their day.

Hitting the delete button

“This is a life-changing day for us,” said Luttrell.

“This will more or less hit the delete button on our debt and we’ll still have some left over for some renovations and celebrations,” said Aho.

“We need a kitchen desperately,” Luttrell said in the video with a chuckle.

When signing for and accepting the check from the HSN Foundation, Luttrell said she was trying not to have tears roll down her face.

A cause close to home

Luttrell said they have been playing the 50/50 “for a long time just as a way to support a cause that’s close to us.”

“I like the cause,” she said in the video.

“The hospital has done so much for my family.”

Luttrell said her father has cancer so she is at HSN often.

“Honestly, this hospital saved my dad’s life,” she added

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Becoming a common occurrence

“Stories like Heather and Mike’s aren’t uncommon in Sudbury or across our region, and they are why the HSN 50/50 is so important,” said Anthony Keating, president and chief development officer of Foundations and Volunteer Groups at HSN in the news release.

“Each month is an opportunity for us to win together and make a transformational difference in the healthcare provided at Health Sciences North now and in the future.”

Since its inception, the HSN Foundation’s 50/50 draw has given away more than $27 Million to winners all over Ontario.

Each month, half of the total ticket sales support HSN equipment purchases, fund leading-edge research and support the future healthcare needs of the residents of northeastern Ontario.

• Related Read: Elliot Lake hospital hopes to cash in on Taylor Swift tickets

Next month's draw

The October HSN 50/50 draw is live at www.hsn5050.ca and the jackpot is already more than $87,500. Click here for more information.

Tickets for the October draw are available to purchase right now, with sales ending at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 30. The jackpot-winning ticket will be drawn on Halloween at 10 a.m.

“This month we're excited to announce one of our biggest early bird prizes ever – a pair of floor tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert at the Rogers Centre on November 21,” said the foundation on social media.

“We're also 'Feeling 22' with $1,000 draws every weekday.”

The winner of the concert tickets will be drawn on Oct. 30.

For more information on the HSN Foundation’s 50/50 draws and the work they do, visit their social media page.

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