Record-setting RVH 50/50 win brings joy to Barrie family coping with unimaginable loss
More than two years after a loss no parent should face, a Barrie family is starting the holiday season off with a glimmer of hope after winning the RVH Auxiliary's record-setting November 50/50 draw worth $266,908.
Chad and Jo-Ann lost their teenage son Carson in May 2021 to a sudden brain hemorrhage.
Since his death, the family has struggled to find its way.
"We closed our business the following year, and we have been trying to find our way ever since because it's been impossible without him," Jo-Ann said.
In addition to his parents, Carson left behind his twin Carter and his other brother Justin.
The Nicolle's three sons are pictured in this undated photo. (Supplied)
The 50/50 win is a full-circle moment for the Nicolles because all three of their boys were born in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the same section of the hospital that will collect the other half of their 50/50 winnings.
"So everything is tied together. It was meant to be. It was actually fate," said RVH Auxiliary president Lise McCourt.
"NICUs are so important. There's not another gift that you can give premature babies than the NICU nurses, than the facilities," said Jo-Ann. "Families, moms especially who need to get rest, they need to not be worrying and scared that they have to leave their babies and go home and come back; they are fretting constantly. This is such a great gift."
The monthly 50/50 draw, which is nearing its third anniversary, aims to raise millions of dollars to renovate the NICU, something the auxiliary president said is desperately needed.
"Right now, the families and the babies are so crowded in there, and we have seen what the new NICU is going to look like, and we are going to work tirelessly to make that dream come true," said McCourt.
After two trying years, the Nicolle family got the call that they were the lucky winners, and it happened on Chad's 52nd birthday.
"It gives us a chance to step back and breathe a little bit and just enjoy a couple things for a little while. We've got two boys and home, and it's just going to make life a little bit easier right now," said Chad.
As the holidays approach, their 50/50 win will bring some relief to a season that has been challenging since the closure of their business.
"I was worried last night. I said I want to get my son some cologne; it was like $125," said Jo-Ann. "I buy him cologne every year. It's the one thing I like to do for him. I was like, where am I going to get $125 right now?! Well, I've got $125," she chuckled.
Surrounded by auxiliary volunteers with tears in their eyes as they accepted the big cheque at RVH, the Nicolles said that they could feel their son Carson looking down on them.
"He's saying I love you mom, and I love you daddio, and you deserve this. I wish I was there to share it with you," Jo-Ann concluded.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6977053.1721909931!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
LIVE UPDATES 'Hopefully it's better than what we're thinking': Jasper wildfire damage details anxiously awaited
Officials are waiting to learn Thursday morning the extent of wildfire damage in the Jasper townsite of Jasper National Park, which flames began to eat away at the night before.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'