Teenage Lottery Winner Was Moved By Cancer Sufferer's Dream. What She Did Next Is Truly Heartwarming
Jane Park (left) with Leon Rendle and his mother Nicky at the fish and chip shop in Edinburgh. Photo: Edinburgh News
Euromillions winner Jane Park, 19, started her buying spree with the £1.1 million win with Louis Vuitton bags and a chihuahua. Then she started work in an Edinburgh fish and chip shop.
And now the Scot has put her money behind a good cause - assisting desperately ill Leon to travel to Orlando in Florida to swim with the dolphins and visit Universal Studios.
Cancer victim Leon Rendle with his mother Nicola. He wanted to visit Universal Studios but insurance turned him down. Photo: Daily Record
Leon and his family were devastated when insurance firms wouldn't cover his trip. When Jane heard about his plight she was deeply moved and offered financial help.
Jane says, "I was very moved when I heard about Leon and got in touch with his mum."
"I’m heartbroken for the family. The doctors say Leon is fit to travel so I don’t see what the problem is. I told them it didn’t matter how big or small it was, I would try and help in any way."
Jane Park was 17 when she won the Euromillions jackpot prize. Photo: Toby Williams
But the gesture could still be in vain – because of a frustrating “computer says no” hurdle, and possibly the cost - as one reader pointed out:
One insurance insider described the computer system used by almost all firms – including ones specialising in providing cancer patients’ travel – as 'brutal.' "The system is generic and superficial in nature," said Dr Krish Shastri, director at InsureCancer, one of the few that does not use the system.
"Can you imagine what it feels like if you are a mum calling about your son and each computer repeatedly asks if he has had a terminal prognosis and says he can’t be insured?"
"It’s one of the most brutal questions you can ask a parent. It’s an outrage."
Discovery Cove in Orlando, Florida, where Leon hopes to visit to swim with the dolphins.
Dozens of Evening News readers got in touch to suggest insurance specialists and offer support.
Among them was David Coutts, who lost his own son Christopher to a form of cancer and now runs The Cookie Jar Foundation aimed at helping families like the Rendles. He has organised contacts in the US to seek out insurance there.
Jane Park is seen here at a department store on a shopping trip after her £1M EuroMillions jackpot win.
Nicky said she was now feeling more optimistic about the family's chances of travelling.
The response from people has been incredible. It’s very humbling,” she said. “I’m actually now getting quite excited. It might actually happen.”
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