Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Healthier... & wealthier
Man wakes from heart op to find wife won £25k on 50p bet
A HEART attack victim got the perfect tonic when he woke from a lifesaving op to hear his wife had won £25,000 on a 50p flutter.
Peter Smith, 70, was rushed to hospital after falling ill and woke five hours after surgery.
And the retired carpenter said it “did him a lot of good” as he began his recovery to hear wife Winnie tell him their luck had turned.
She had played the 49s game at the local Betfred shop and all five numbers – based on their wedding day and family birthdays – came up.
Peter said: “It all happened in a few hours. I was rushed to hospital and had my operation almost straight away.
“Then Winnie was on the phone as I was coming round to see how it had gone when she told me the amazing news.
“It did me a lot of good.”
Winnie, 70, added: “I put the bet on for the Saturday draw on the Friday and then in the early hours of Saturday Peter had his heart attack. They knew what was wrong and went straight in for the operation to fit stents at King’s College Hospital.
“With the Covid restrictions I couldn’t visit but knew when I did speak to him by phone I would be able to cheer him up with the news that we were £25,000 better off.”
The grandparents, from Sidcup, Kent, are planning a cruise to the Caribbean or the Maldives for their go l d en wed din g anniversar y next year – and will get a new conservatory.
With Covid I couldn’t visit but knew I’d be able to cheer him up with the news on the phone WINNIE SMITH ON TELLING PETER OF HER WIN IN RECOVERY WARD