- When Narelle needed to work three jobs to support her three kids and her Hubby who was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, she never thought a life-changing win was possible
- Narelle missed three calls while at work and didn’t think much of it, returning the call, little did she know she was a lottery winner, and her life was about to change forever
- Narelle and her family were now lottery winners and won the Mater $4.2 Million package
- Here Narelle Baker, 51, from Sydney NSW shares her story of her big win…
I let out a heavy sigh as I sat at the kitchen table, defeated by the pile of bills we needed to pay.
“They never stop,” I moaned to my husband, Dean, 57. “We’ve got Buckley’s of getting ahead.”
Our family lived in Western Sydney in a three-bedroom place we owned that was nowhere near large enough for all five of us.
But money wasn’t the only thing we were worrying about.
In May 2022, Dean had been feeling unwell and suffering from vertigo. Our doctor ran some tests and they revealed Dean had prostate cancer.
The news had come as a huge shock to us and our kids, Ashleigh, 19, Amy, 16, and Thomas, 11.
As we juggled biopsies and waiting to see specialists, we also had to scrimp and save to come up with the $15,000 it would cost for surgery.
In October that year, Dean finally had the op to remove his prostate, but we still worried for the future. He couldn’t work at his government job for the next five months, while he recovered.
“I’m sorry I can’t help out more, love,” Dean said, as I sorted through the mounting bills.
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “You just concentrate on getting better. I’ll take care of us.”
Read more: I dreamt I won an Aussie beachfront house – then I did!
I already had a fair bit on my plate. Amy has an intellectual disability and Thomas has autism and ADHD, which requires extra care from me.
I was drained and tired, but my family needed me. I was determined to see us through this rough patch.
On top of my regular job as a Woolies cashier, I took on before and after school child care and worked as a teacher’s aide.
Without Dean’s income, money was tight. We did away with holidays or dinners out and watched every cent we spent.
Working three jobs, the only free time I had was on Saturdays, so that’s when I’d jump online and buy Mater Prize Home lottery tickets, which supported cancer research.
Although the prize was a waterfront house on the Gold Coast – where I’d always dreamed of living – and a bunch of other goodies, I never thought we’d actually win. I just wanted to use what little money we had to do some good. I’d seen first-hand what cancer does to a family, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
One day, while I was in class, I received a phone call from a woman at Mater reminding me to buy some tickets.
“You don’t want to miss out,” she said to me.
I felt bad about spending the money but then I thought about the cause it went towards. Thankfully, it looked like Dean had won his cancer battle but I knew others wouldn’t be so lucky.
So, I forked out $40 on 35 lottery tickets.
As we were living pay cheque to pay cheque, I didn’t dare tell Dean about it but then one day, he looked at our bank account and discovered the expense.
“Please stop buying lottery tickets until we’re back on our feet, love,” he said. “Besides, no-one ever wins those things.”
“It’s not about winning, it’s about the cause,” I argued. “But fine. That’s the last lot for now.”
A few days later, on December 22, 2023, I was in the living room when I realised I’d left my phone charging in the bedroom. I went to get it and saw I had three missed calls.
Just then, the phone rang again so I answered.
“Hi, is that Narelle Baker?” a male voice asked and I confirmed it was.
“Are you driving at the moment?” he said.
“What? No,” I replied, sure it was a prank call.
“Congratulations! You’ve won the Mater lottery!” the man exclaimed.
Gobsmacked, I nearly dropped the phone. It was too surreal to absorb.
“Is this a joke?” I managed to croak out, voice shaking.
He assured me it wasn’t. I’d won a $4.2-million package consisting of a five bedroom, three-storey house on the Gold Coast, a brand-new Tesla, two jet skis, a boat and $1 million in gold bullion.
It was an indescribable feeling. I thought of the mortgage, our budget, and how our financial safety net had shrunk significantly over the months. I couldn’t believe all of those worries had vanished with a single phone call!
Afterwards, sobbing with joy and relief, I called Dean, who was at the airport picking up my brother for Christmas.
“Why are you crying?” he asked, concerned.
“You know those lottery tickets you reckon no-one ever wins?” I said, grinning. “We’ve just won!”
It took some convincing that it was no joke.
“Well, I’m eating my words!” he said.
I couldn’t believe my dream to live on the Gold Coast was actually coming true – and in a luxury house!
Winning the lottery has changed our lives forever. But I’m still working as a teacher’s aide, because I love working with kids, and Dean is back at work – and has only another year before he can retire.
We’ve been able to renovate our Sydney home so our girls can live there together while they work and study, and Thomas will move up to Queensland with us.
At first, I was reluctant to leave our loved ones in Sydney, where we’ve lived for 19 years.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be friends wherever you live,” many mates assured me. “We’ll come and visit now.”
I look forward to retired life in our beautiful new home. We went up recently to visit and still couldn’t believe it was ours.
We plan to dedicate the next few years to taking better care of ourselves. We’ll go for drives around sunny Queensland in the Tesla, go out on the boat and even take the jet skis for a spin!
These days, people often ask me if I’m still buying lottery tickets.
“I’ll always fork out to support cancer research,” I tell them. After everything we’ve been through, it was never about the win for me, but it sure has helped!
