In 1998, Australian Bill Morgan’s life hung in the balance. Following a car crash that hospitalized him, he also endured a catastrophic heart attack that left doctors declaring him “clinically dead” when his heart stopped beating.
Despite regaining a heartbeat after more than 14 minutes, doctors said he would still not recover. Morgan drifted into a coma with no signs of coming out of it.
After two weeks of no movement, all hope seemed lost. Arrangements were already being made for his funeral. But the 37-year-old Morgan stunned everyone when he woke up from his coma, an awakening those at the hospital cited as a “medical miracle.”
But that was just the start of Morgan’s victory over the odds. A year later, Morgan won a scratch-off lottery not once but twice, the second time coming on live television when it was supposed to be filmed for re-enactment purposes only.
Morgan’s victory over death and the incredible surge of luck left many to dub him “The luckiest man in the world.”
Morgan’s Battle With Death
For Bill Morgan, life was not easy before his 38th birthday. He was a truck driver in Australia who lived out of his caravan in a park with his wife, trying to survive paycheck to paycheck.
It was one thing for Morgan to fight for money; it was another thing to battle with his life. A bad car crash not only left him severely injured but worsened his heart condition. When the doctors at the hospital gave him medicine to try to improve his health, Morgan suffered an allergic reaction leading to a horrific heart attack.
Doctors tried to revive him, and for 14 minutes and 38 seconds, Morgan’s heart had stopped and his family was told the hospital was about to take him off of life support.
Just when they were ready to pull the plug and officially list him as deceased, Morgan’s heart slowly started beating again. Morgan wasn’t out of the woods, though, and doctors were still on the verge of giving up hope.
“I went into a coma and Dandenong Hospital said they were turning off the machine,” Morgan said. “Even if I came to I was going to be brain dead and a vegetable for all my life. My sisters didn’t want them to turn it off, and there was a specialist from the Alfred Hospital who said, ‘We’ll take him but we want to use him as a guinea pig essentially and try different things, if one of them works, great.’”
Well, one of those experiments did work. After 15 days in a coma, Morgan miraculously defied the odds and woke up. He slowly recovered while still being diagnosed with severe heart issues. Thankful to be alive and considering himself lucky, Morgan played daily scratch-offs figuring he had nothing to lose.
Lottery Luck
Morgan went a year buying a Tattslotto and a $5 scratchie ticket, hoping to break the bank. For 12 months, he barely won anything. But then, out of nowhere, he won a new Toyota Corolla worth $30,000.
When the media discovered Morgan’s car winning, they wanted to re-enact and put it on the news. So they called Morgan and asked if he could come down to the same place he bought the ticket and pretend he won for television purposes.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal to me until the newspapers and TV stations got wind of it,” Morgan said. “They thought it was a good luck story, so that’s how it all started. And I went into the news agent’s and they filmed me walking up to the counter to get a $5 Scratchie and one of the cameramen said, ‘That’d make a good shot, we’ll get you scratching it off.’”
Of course, the odds of Morgan winning thousands of dollars on this “pretend scratch-off” was more than 1 million-to-one. But as he scratched off his ticket with the cameras rolling, Morgan noticed something instantly about this ticket.
“I just $250,000 – I’m not joking,” Morgan said in disbelief. “I just won $250,000.”
Obviously, the first thought people had was it was a great re-enactment, although Morgan said he didn’t win a new car, he won $250,000.
He showed everyone his ticket and he then began breaking down in tears, leading everyone to realize this was legitimate. When his ticket was analyzed, they realized he won and showed the cameras the winning ticket.
“I think I’ll have another heart attack.”
Morgan immediately called his wife to tell her they could now buy a house, footage that was seen everywhere on television. The news agency opened up a bottle of champagne to celebrate their incredible good fortune in capturing something that will likely never happen again in our lifetime.
Morgan’s Life Post-Winning
Morgan’s winning ticket went viral and still can be seen on YouTube and other outlets today. But since then, his luck has been good and bad. It’s been good in that he’s continued living despite having a heart condition and doesn’t have to live in a caravan park anymore.
Morgan and his wife live in their home where he’s invested much of his winnings.
However, other things have not gone as well. Because of the car crash and flirtation with death, Morgan has dealt with a myriad of health issues, including arthritis and more heart problems. Additionally, he recently lost his sister along with his brother-in-law and nephew. All that said, if you ask Morgan if he’s had a lucky life, the answer is a resounding yes.
“I’m either on the highest of highs or the lowest of lows,” Morgan said. But look, I’ve had a bonus of 22 years and that’s the way you have to live your life.
Every day I get up and put on my shoes, and even if I’m not real well, I have to shuffle down the road and smell the roses, look at the sun, and think about how lucky I am. I won $250,000. The house I live in, I own. I’ve got a nice enough car that I own. Sure, I had to retire because the heart got too much and I’m riddled with arthritis, but it was all for the best.”
