"Playing the lottery is my way of giving something back"

Penny Singh was delighted when she won £50 on the Saint Francis Hospice Lottery in 2022 but she was “over the moon” when she hit the £1,000 jackpot.

Penny started playing the hospice’s Lottery after her husband Gurmit was cared for by the charity in 2015.

“I was delighted when I won £50 last year but I was absolutely over the moon when I got a phone call on 6^th January to say I’d won £1,000 - I just couldn’t believe it,” said Penny.

How the hospice helped my husband

“Gurmit was diagnosed with myeloma (a type of bone marrow cancer) just three days before Christmas in 2013.

“We had never heard of it at the time. We were told it was terminal but it could be controlled. He had two rounds of chemotherapy but by 2014 he was told there was no more that could be done.

“Gurmit had wanted to die at home. We did not have much money at the time and he was worried we would have to pay for everything at the hospice and we couldn’t afford it but I told him not to worry because it was free.

“The hospice nurses came to visit him at home a few times.

“By August 2015 Gurmit was so unwell, he was transferred from Queen’s Hospital to the ward at Saint Francis Hospice.

“My two sons Robert and Jake and I were able to stay with him in the family room and the rest of his family were also able to visit. I know how much that meant to Gurmit to have everyone there.

“He was given great care and when he passed away on 18^th August 2015, my son Robert and I had counselling. It was such a difficult time. I couldn’t work as I was Gurmit’s carer and I also had to be there for the kids.

“It has only been in the last couple of years that we have been able to start laughing again. We have been able to say, dad would have done this or dad would have done that.

Giving something back

“I never expected to win the lottery, it was our way of helping the hospice.

“We also have a leaf on the Memory Tree which is dedicated to Gurmit and this is another way we can support the charity with a regular donation.”

Penny is also incredibly proud of her son Robert who will be running the London Marathon in April in memory of his dad while fundraising for Saint Francis Hospice to help other people and families receive the care and support they need, just as their family did.