Forklift driver who won $1M in scratch-off lottery is hospitalized after nonstop partying
Lopez was hospitalized in the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital for eight and a half days, calling the ordeal a “kick up the backside.” Andrii Lysenko – stock.adobe.com
A British forklift driver who became a millionaire overnight is rethinking his post-jackpot lifestyle after suffering a life-threatening health scare, according to reports.
Adam Lopez, 39, went from having just £17 in his bank account to over £1.3 million after winning a scratch-off lottery in July, BBC reported.
By September, the Mattishall resident found himself in an ambulance, battling a bilateral pulmonary embolism.
“I knew what I was doing was going to come to an end eventually, and it nearly ended in the worst possible way. It was a massive wake-up call,” Lopez told the BBC. He admitted to “partying for the last three months” and “burning the candle at both ends” after suddenly coming into his fortune.
“It allowed me to live a life I’d never lived before, but I went about it the wrong way. It was fun until my health became a serious issue,” he said.
Lopez first noticed problems about three weeks prior to his hospitalization, when a blood clot in his leg spread to his lungs. He spent eight and a half days at Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital, describing the experience as a “kick up the backside.”
“I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t breathe. I called an ambulance, got wheeled out of my house, and lying in the back of that ambulance, hearing the sirens—it was a life-changing moment,” he recalled.
He praised hospital staff for his recovery, saying he felt “surrounded by angels.”
“It really puts life into perspective. It doesn’t matter if you have a million, 100 million, or even a trillion—when you’re in the back of an ambulance, none of it matters,” Lopez said.
After his win, Lopez quit his forklift job, a decision he now regrets. “Leaving my job was a mistake. I lost the structure of daily life and felt completely disconnected from my previous routine,” he admitted.
Now focused on recovery, Lopez plans to spend the next six to nine months restoring his health and hopes to be “back to the full version” of himself.
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