Jackpot winner contends with devastating loss after accident
This is an article about a Las Vegas woman who last year won the world’s largest slot machine jackpot ($35M) and then five weeks later became a quad after being hit by a drunk driver with 16 prior arrests.
She’s quoted as saying, “Sometimes I think that maybe Megabucks came to help me with this thing that came next. Maybe there’s a reason for me being like this.”
Her husband: “It’s kind of a cruel irony. I don’t know if it’s God’s cruel joke or what.”
I feel bad for these people, but not just because of what’s happened to them. It’s that their views of life, God, good luck, and accidents are seemingly making it worse for them. They’re probably suffering more than most families who are dealing with lifelong paralysis caused by drunk drivers because their expectation was that their new wealth would bring them happiness ever after.
I wonder if my beliefs would hold up under a scenario like this? My wife Robbie’s brain tumor is a challenge for us both, but what if I was the one with the tumor? What if I was the one paralyzed like the lady in Las Vegas? I’d probably have a rough time for a while, but I like to think I’d come around. I don’t really know. All I know is that sometimes shit happens for no reason and that I don’t have a right to spared from it.