When their son’s bowel condition was successfully treated at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) some 20 years, ago Lori and Wayne Carr felt as though they had won the lottery. That feeling was renewed yesterday at SickKids when they received a cheque for one million dollars as the latest grand prize winners of the SickKids Lottery.

Born with a mild case of spina bifida relating to a bowel condition, the Carr’s first born son, Austin, was referred to SickKids at age four where he spent the next year getting a diagnosis and receiving treatment. Today, he is a healthy 22 year old attending school in Winnipeg.

The Carrs started supporting the SickKids Lottery a few years ago as a way to give back to the hospital that had given them so much.

“We have always had a strong emotional connection with SickKids and we wanted to show our thanks,” Lori Carr said . “SickKids was such an incredible support to us during our son’s treatment and we’ll never forget the kindness and care we got from everyone we encountered there. We were already so grateful to have our lives changed once by SickKids. We never thought our lives would be changed so dramatically a second time by the same hospital.” 

The Carrs travelled from their family home in Chatham earlier this week to pick up their cheque at SickKids.

Net proceeds generated by the lottery will be used to further the mission of SickKids Foundation and help support The Hospital for Sick Children. To learn more about the lottery, visit the SickKids Lottery website.

*see lottery rules and regulations for details visit: www.sickkidslottery.ca Lottery licence 2797.

Caitlin, 7, celebrated a huge milestone this year. But not a typical milestone like learning to tell time or to cursive write; Caitlin reached the two-and-a-half year mark since her last chemotherapy treatment.

At a very young age, tests revealed Caitlin had a type of cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It’s a rapidly progressive cancer that is the most common malignancy in young children. She went to SickKids for specialty care.

This year, Caitlin is the face of the 2010 spring SickKids Lottery. Caitlin’s story represents the 100,000 children treated at The Hospital for Sick Children each year who benefit from the Lottery’s support of Foundation and Hospital programs.

When you buy a SickKids Lottery ticket you get the best of both worlds. You have the chance to win one of thousands of sensational prizes and you help further the mission of SickKids Foundation and help support The Hospital for Sick Children.

The spring Lottery offers the chance to win some very exciting prizes, including the return of the $1-million cash* grand prize and three Dream Pack Prizes. The Dream Pack Prizes include the Dream of Style, Dream of the Arts and Dream of Experience packages. In addition, there are seven cars up for grabs, a Paris vacation and three all inclusive sun vacation destinations for two!

The spring Lottery offers our best ticket pricing.* Take advantage of the best possible pricing per ticket by getting together with your co-workers or friends to purchase a 10-pack of tickets for $500. You can also purchase one for $100, three for $200 or five for $300. Purchase your tickets online to help us keep down our transactional costs so more money goes towards the Hospital.

Today, Caitlin is doing great! You can learn all about Caitlin on the Lottery website or by watching the video below:

If you cannot view the video please follow the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Uf65EvKFs

* To see rules and regulations or learn more about the Lottery please visit: www.sickkidslottery.ca. Lottery License #2797.

Paul and Susan Leblanc used to travel to The Hospital for Sick Children so their son could have access to the lifesaving care he needed for his heart condition. Yesterday they had one-million reasons for their visit.

The SickKids parents won the $1 million SickKids Lottery grand prize and picked up their cheque at the Hospital yesterday. Ted Garrard, President and CEO of SickKids  Foundation and 13-year-old SickKids patient ambassador, Kaitlyn O’Brien, presented the oversized cheque.

They received a tremendous surprise when their son Zacharie’s surgeon, Dr. Glen Van Arsdell, stopped by to give his congratulations.

“It was good to see him again,” Susan Leblanc said to Toronto Sun videographer Ian Robertson. “We appreciate everything he did when we were first here. It’s very emotional to see him and (great) to say thank you again.”

The Leblanc family’s support of the SickKids Lottery stems from the treatment Zacharie received at the Hospital at only seven months old. He was born with Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV) syndrome, which required lifesaving heart surgery. Now almost three, he is a happy, healthy child who loves playing with his older brother Matthew who is four.

The Leblancs have supported many past SickKids lotteries and their winning ticket was the second of three purchased in the recent draw.

Tickets for the next SickKids Lottery are now available and with only 66,500 tickets for sale, it’s the best odds to win $1 million*. You could be next! There are also three incredible dream pack prizes: Dream of Style, Dream of the Arts and Dream of Experiences.

This Lottery offers the best ticket pricing*. Get together with co-workers or friends and purchase a 10-pack of tickets for $500 to get the best possible pricing per ticket. You can also purchase one for $100, three for $200 or five for $300. You can even order your tickets online, which helps us reduce transactional costs!

Good luck! To learn more about the lottery, visit the SickKids Lottery website.

* See rules and regulations at www.sickkidslottery.ca. Lottery License #2797.