I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: News Articles => Topic started by: okarol on June 15, 2011, 09:45:48 AM
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2 hrs 1 min ago
Lottery winner on dialysis plans to give help to charities, friends
By Zachary Roth
An Ohio man who needs kidney dialysis to stay alive won $5 million in the lottery--but says he plans on giving part of his windfall away.
"I'm going to help people because I love it. It makes me feel good, and I think that's what God put us here for," Phillip Withem of Logan said Tuesday, right after accepting the mega-check from the Ohio Lottery.
In 2006, Withem paid $20 for an instant lottery ticket, and won $2,500. Then he won a second-round draw, featuring 86 entrants, called the Top Prized Drawing, which gave him his big payday.
Withem said he planned to donate some of the haul to children's charities, and to friends who helped him during his illness.
Before he got sick, Withem worked part-time cleaning and maintaining the Hocking County Courthouse.
"The people at the courthouse were really nice to me when I got sick," Withem said. "I really appreciate that."
Withem, who needs to undergo dialysis three times a week, said he'll also use the money to make his life comfortable.
"No more disability," he said. "But I don't think I need it."
He also has his sense of humor to help him get by. Asked whether he had any children, Withem replied: "I have no kids that I know of. But I'm sure I'll have them coming out of the woodwork now."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110615/ts_yblog_thelookout/lottery-winner-on-dialysis-plans-to-give-help-charities-friends