Posted by anonymous, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 10, 2012 at 4:51 pm

Congratulations, Emily! I think it's really tremendous that you have survived so much, and I wish you the best with your health.

I wish our country could find it within itself to do the right thing and instead of spending our money on healthcare paperwork (to benefit insurers), spend on it on healthCARE. I thought it was so sad when I heard that the little boy who caught that recordbreaking ball a few years ago (can't remember now which), said beaming to the camera that now he could HELP pay his dad's medical bills (meaning, it probably wouldn't even cover them all even though it was several hundred thousand dollars he sold it for).

I wish you a healthy New Year, and lots of luck!

Posted by Agree, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jan 10, 2012 at 5:17 pm

To Anonymous - I thought the same thing. I am very pleased this well-deserving young lady won this money but I wish she could spend more of it on enjoying her life instead of forwarding it to insurers and their bill collectors.

Posted by EC, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 10, 2012 at 9:27 pm

Congrats to Emily. Wishing you all the best.

Posted by fiscally fit, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jan 10, 2012 at 10:04 pm

With mountains of debt, how often does she blow $400 on lottery tickets? Here's betting that million will be spent before she has to pay taxes on it.

Posted by HaHa!, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Jan 10, 2012 at 11:04 pm

Fiscally fit, thanks for the laugh! I totally agree! I'm still happy for her though.

Posted by A lady in waiting....., a resident of the Green Acres neighborhood, on Jan 11, 2012 at 12:46 pm

This story is about keeping the faith, SOMEONE eventually had to win~ I am glad it went to someone who really needed it! Ask anyone who is buying lottery tickets WHY THEY are buying their tickets...everyone has a dream....unfortunately, we can't all win..Clean up your disappointment...the money from the ticket purchases are used to go to "school children", correct??????????? Hummmmmmmm.....

Posted by Perspective, a resident of the Fairmeadow neighborhood, on Jan 12, 2012 at 4:00 am

I am confused ...if she had medical insurance, she wouldn't need the million to pay her medical bills. If she didn't have insurance, and wasn't "independently wealthy", she would go bankrupt, which would get rid of her medical bills and put her onto MediCal. ( I know, I have been there.) If her family is wealthy enough to back her up financially, congrats! In other words, it is odd that she has supposedly 1,000,000 in med bills. It just doesn't add up.

The whole thing about "medical bills" is confusing.

But whatever it is, I am just very, very happy that someone else has beat back the cancer horror and won a lottery!!