Nurse Who Takes Care of COVID-19 Patients Wins $1 Million in Lottery

A nurse, who takes care of COVID-19 patients in a long-term care facility, has won $1 million in a state lottery.

Nurse Won $1 Million Lottery Prize

Nurses and doctors play significant roles in this time of the global pandemic. They are the frontliners who continue to fight the global pandemic that infected millions and claimed the lives of millions worldwide. They are the modern heroes who put their lives at risk to serve those infected with the virus.

According to a published report of ABC6 On Your Side, a nurse from Durham, North Carolina named Terri Watkins received a call telling her that she won a $1 million prize and thought it was a scam.

She said: "I thought that it was a scam. I was a little upset actually! I thought that it was not real, couldn't be real. It's still something that I really don't believe, I'm still in some shock here."

But Watkins remembered that she played the lottery's $300,000,000 Supreme Riches second-chance drawing, where winners would receive a phone call or email informing them of their good fortune. It was the time she realized that she indeed won the lottery.

According to the North Carolina Lottery website, Watkins' entry was chosen from more than 513,000 entries.

A Brief Background About the Nurse

Terri Watkins has been working as a nurse for a long time. In this time of the global pandemic, she is one of the nurses in North Carolina who continually fight the virus and help patients combat the infectious and deadly COVID-19.

Watkins is a nurse at a COVID-19 unit, where just like the other frontline workers, has witnessed and gone in so much pain seeing critically ill patients suffering from the virus. North Carolina has a swelling number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

Watkins felt so lucky that she won a prize that she did not expect. In a published article in Your Tango, Watkins said: "Just seeing some of the things that I've had to see, I am very thankful. I had been praying for something to help me with this situation. It really is a great thing. I'm very blessed."

Since the pandemic began, nurses and doctors in the country have been working so hard and extending their time to care for the COVID-19 patients, even though they have to isolate themselves from their families to avoid possible virus transmission.

In the past few months, there have been different reports of nurses and doctors that showed how the pandemic physically and mentally affects them. In fact, medical workers have asked the government to provide them more personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves against the virus.

What the Nurse Plans To Do With Her $1 Million Prize?

Terri Watkins chose the lump sum payout of $600,000 over the option of $50,000 payments for the next 20 years. She claimed the prize amounting to $424,500 after state and federal taxes were applied. She said that she plans to use the money to buy a house.