What are the chances that somebody would win the lottery? The odds are pretty low, but there is always that one lucky person!
Often, co-workers will pool their money and buy a bunch of tickets. Then, they agree to split the winnings if one of them wins.
This strategy has been used many times, although it’s unclear how often it actually works.
Playing the Odds
Usually, when the lottery winnings reach high amounts, people start buying more and more tickets. It just makes sense.
That’s exactly what this team of nurses did! A group of 126 NICU nurses at Mercy Children’s Hospital in Missouri each bought a few tickets.
Now, these nurses didn’t win the jackpot, which totaled up to $1.6 billion. However, they ended up winning $10,000.
There was a total of five tickets sold with a value of $10,000. These nurses got lucky and got one!
To some people, $10,000 can make a big difference. Because there were so many nurses in this group, the win was barely worth it.
It turned out that each of them would only get $56. This was due to taxes, which brought the $10,000 down to $7,200.
The Perfect Idea
With all the people they had to divide it up between, it seemed like a very small amount of money for each of these nurses.
After some consideration, the nurses came up with a new, better idea. The $56 each wasn’t a big deal to them.
They decided that they would split the $10,000 between two nurses who really needed the money the most. They wanted to make a difference in their co-workers’ lives.
Casey
One of the two who received the money is Casey Orellana. She is a neonatologist, a mom to four children, and a wife.
Her husband, Phil, was diagnosed with cancer. This happened in early 2018, and he was forced to quit his job in July.
This naturally put Casey in a tough spot financially. In addition, she was trying to juggle caring for her kids, working, and paying for Phil’s medications.
When Casey picked up so many extra responsibilities, she also had to stop working as often. This increased the financial difficulties she was already facing.
When the nurses called Casey to let her know that she was being given the money, she was trying to find the money to cover her husband’s medicine. It was the perfect timing.
Gretchen
The second lottery winning nurse was Gretchen Post. The nurses decided to share the money with her because her 17-year-old son, Jack, had died by suicide a month prior.
Gretchen shared that the money will cover the costs of the funeral. This is greatly appreciated by the grieving mom and family.
The nurses who gave her the money knew that she should not have to pay for the funeral and burial expenses while grieving the loss of her son.
This entire story has worked to bring the nurses closer to one another. Without a doubt, it has also encouraged more people out there to put others above themselves.
While the nurses were pretty shocked and excited about the win, we think they were also incredibly thoughtful in how they decided to use the money. It couldn’t have been done with more care and consideration.
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