A builder who scooped £1million on a scratchcard came close to death after ‘three months of partying’.
Adam Lopez’s bank balance went from £12.40 to £1,000,012.40 following the impressive National Lottery win in July.
The 39-year-old, from Norwich, quit his job while he worked out what he was going to do with the prize money and embarked on a hedonistic few months.
However, on September 10 he suffered a bilateral pulmonary embolism and was rushed to hospital.
‘I knew what I was doing was going to come to an end eventually, and it nearly came to an end in the worst possible way. It was a massive, massive wake-up call,’ he told the BBC.
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Adam said his life had been an ‘absolute rollercoaster’ following the win, with him him ‘partying for the last three months’ and ‘burning the candle at both ends’.
He said the money had allowed him to live a bit of life he’d never lived but admitted he had gone about it the wrong way.
‘It became apparent about three weeks ago… with a blood clot in my leg which spread to my lungs,’ he explained.
He added: ‘I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t breathe. I rang the ambulance, I got wheeled into the ambulance from my house and the biggest life-changing thing I had, was laying in the back of that ambulance and hearing the sirens.’
Adam, who spent eight days in hospital, thanked the healthcare workers who saved his life and said it didn’t matter how much money you have when you’re in the back of an ambulance and your life is on the line.
He now plans to focus on his recovery, which he says could take six to nine months.
In the summer, Adam described how he’d bought the scratch card at a corner shop when stopping to buy a drink.
‘Once in the car I played the scratchcard and when I saw the £1million, I didn’t know what to do with myself, so shoved the scratchcard in the glovebox without even thinking,’ he said.
‘I always thought I’d scream if I ever won big but when it actually happened, I was stunned into complete silence!’
When he told his family the good news, his mum ‘went off like a balloon’, she was so excited for him.
‘Seeing my balance go from £12.40 to £1,000,012.40 was a real ‘pinch me’ moment!,’ he said.
Adam told the BBC he later regretted quitting his job because he no longer had a routine and felt a ‘complete disconnect’ from the life he was used to.
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