Islander wins $55K on day of cancer surgery

On Monday morning, Charlotte Brown paced the floors of the cancer centre at Saint John Regional Hospital waiting for husband to come out of surgery.

Tuesday morning she got to tell him he won $55,486 in a minor hockey 50/50 back home.

"He was stunned, and there were some tears of surprise and shock," said Brown. "We can't get our heads around it."

After sharing the news, she had to assure Daryl it wasn't the painkillers playing tricks.

"It's a bit of security blanket," she said of the prize. "It feels like you can really take some deep breaths and you have some room and take some time and make sure Daryl is getting better, and doing what he needs to do."

1 in 29,000 odds

The Browns knew the colon cancer surgery was coming, and were ready for a long recovery.

The financial picture wasn't so clear. In their hometown of Stratford, P.E.I., the fundraising was already underway to help the family while Daryl recovered.

Monday night, only hours after the surgery, the weekly draw in the Pownal Minor Hockey Association 50/50 took place and with one in 29,000 odds the long time volunteer's name was drawn.

"It sounds just as amazing as it, it just boggles the mind, you always hear about those things happening to other people," said Brown.

Most of Daryl's recovery will take place on P.E.I. where the Browns will have a chance to celebrate the win with their three kids, all players in the Pownal Minor Hockey Association.

Daryl coaches two of the kids' teams and Charlotte works as a volunteer.

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