£4m lottery win for man who came back from coma
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Your support makes all the difference.A man who has twice cheated death was dealt another lucky hand when he scooped more than £4 million on the Lottery, he revealed today.
Graham Tustain, 47, survived a motorbike crash which left him in a coma for 13 weeks and then a serious car crash.
Doctors said he might never wake up and would probably never walk again if he did come round after the bike smash in 1984.
Mr Tustain, from Oxfordshire, won £4,425,001 on Saturday's Lotto draw, but said the win will not change him and he still plans to go to weekly dominoes and darts sessions.
The Oxford United fan found out he had won after returning from the pub early on Sunday morning.
"I went straight to my coat pocket to check the ticket, unfolded it and went along the line and went 'yes'," he said.
Mr Tustain, who has eight siblings, tried to phone his brother, Roger, but after getting no answer said he simply wrote his name on the back of the ticket - in case anyone stole it - and went to bed.
His numbers were chosen by a lucky dip he bought on Saturday morning.
Mr Tustain said the win has not yet sunk in but he has already started splashing the cash by ordering a brand new £30,000 XC60 Volvo.
He uses a walking aid and said he will look for a new bungalow that allows him to get around easily. He also plans to go on a Caribbean cruise.
Mr Tustain, who was surrounded by family members as he spoke, said: "I had a motorbike accident when I was 21, a drunk driver reversed straight out and knocked me off.
"When he got out the car, he just fell over and that, or at least that's what people say, but I was unconscious."
He was left with brain damage, a punctured lung, a smashed pelvis, ruptured spleen, a fractured hip and a broken ankle.
"I had to learn how to walk again and all that stuff, the doctors said I wouldn't walk again but I soon showed them wrong, because you've got to keep persevering," he said.
In 2003 he had another accident when a tyre burst and his car flipped into a hedge.
Mr Tustain was left hanging upside down inside the car for four-and-a-half hours and his family said his head had swelled to twice the size of a football when they went to see him in hospital.
His elder brother, Bob, 62, said: "He's like a cat with nine lives. He thoroughly deserves to win this with all that's happened to him in his life."
Mr Tustain has been a supporter of Oxford United for more than 25 years and spoke about his win at the club's Kassam Stadium.
"My mate buys my tickets at the moment, but I'll be able to treat him now," Mr Tustain said.
While he was recovering at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford after the motorbike crash, the team's then manager, Jim Smith, and players John Aldridge and Les Phillips visited him after they won the Third Division league title.
But the Lottery winner said he had no plans to invest in his beloved team, who are currently in the middle of League Two.
"It would take more than one player, probably more like 11. I just hope they stay in the league," he said.
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