Kelly Zdriluk was on her way to hospital to give birth when she stopped to buy a lottery ticket at the Petro-Canada station on Simcoe Street in Tillsonburg.
The 29-year-old Brantford woman ended up winning a Maxmillions prize worth $333,333.40 in the Oct. 7 Lotto Max draw.
“I … needed to stop for gas,” she said while picking up her winnings at the OLG prize center in Toronto.
“After being at home with a newborn for a couple days, I checked my ticket on the OLG app,” she said.
“When I saw I won, my breath left my body.”
She called her partner right away.
“He thought I was playing a TikTok prank on him,” she said.
“When he realized it was true, we cried tears of joy. Sharing this moment together was the nicest part – at one point we just looked at each other and laughed.”
While in labour, Zdriluk said she got a call from her mother, who told her there were lots of Maxmillions winners and that might bring home some money, along with a baby.
. “I called her and said, ‘Remember what you said to me while I was in labour?’”
Zdriluk said her experience has been surreal.
“I was on Cloud 9,” she said.
“This comes at a wonderful time in my life.”
She said she plans to invest for the future and save to buy a house.
“I might consider a new vehicle or a trip to celebrate.”