A North Carolina nurse who has been helping patients over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic has just received a well-earned reward.
US Nurse Had Been 'Praying for Something'
According to the lottery, Terri Watkins was chosen from over half a million entries in North Carolina's last $300,000,000 Supreme Riches second-chance drawing on Wednesday.
The nurse from Durham, North Carolina, recently brought home the $1 million prize following the selection of her entry from 513,000 submissions in the North Carolina Education Lottery's Supreme Riches second-chance drawing.
Watkins finally received some good news upon working in the coronavirus unit at a long-term care facility. She remarked that she remains to be gobsmacked after winning $1 million.
The North Carolina Education Lottery said the nurse said she was blessed upon winning the contest this week. Watkins entered the $300,000,000 Supreme Riches second-chance drawing but did not believe she would actually win. When the state Education Lottery called to congratulate her, she was surprised.
According to the nurse, "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," reported NECN.
Watkins also remarked that she is thankful, "I'm a nurse and I work in the COVID unit at a long-term care facility." Witnessing some of the things she had seen, she has nothing but gratitude, reported Fox 11 News.
She said she had been praying for something to help her in this situation. She added that it is a "great thing" and that she is very blessed.
She decided on the lump sum payout of $600,000 over the option of $50,000 payments for the following two decades. Watkins collected the cash on Thursday. The amount she took home was $424,500 after state and federal tax withholdings.
She is currently ruminating on how she would spend the cash. She said a new house would be nice but would like to be patient by taking time and putting it in the right place.
Winners of second-chance drawings receive a phone call or e-mail letting them know they have clinched the prize.
She claimed her prize on Thursday at the Raleigh lottery headquarters in North Carolina.
Watkins remarked she had been praying for help as the novel coronavirus continues to affect North Carolina, where it has recorded over 638,000 cases and 7,687 fatalities.
"Just seeing some of the things that I've had to see, I am very thankful," according to Watkins, reported People.
She said she is going to "take it slow and easy" and decide on her next option.
A New York Times database has confirmed that North Carolina has experienced a surge of an estimated 638,000 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Over 22.7 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus throughout the United States as of Tuesday afternoon. Over 379,000 people in the United States have died from the virus since then.
