Bill Morgan, Australia's Luckiest Man

Some of us are luckier than others; we may witness friends ace an exam they didn’t study for, whilst we get a terrible grade despite weeks of work. It may sometimes feel that life hands things to certain people on a platter, and we consider them extremely lucky.

For Bill Morgan, a quiet and honest man from Melbourne, Australia, one disastrous event was about to kick start the strangest string of luck anyone has ever seen.

**Bill Morgan’s reaction to winning live on air. Image via Nine News.**

First Stroke Of Bad Luck

In 1998, Bill Morgan, described as a hardworking and quiet man, was trucking around Australia. Bill enjoyed his work and loved to be on the open road in solitude.

Unfortunately, one afternoon in 1998, Bill began to fall ill at the wheel. Before he could react, he slumped over the wheel, causing the truck to crash. Other motorists rushed to his aid, but Bill was unresponsive.

Emergency services soon arrived at the scene and were able to retrieve Bill from the vehicle. At the hospital, diagnostic tests confirmed that Bill had suffered a heart attack.

As if this wasn’t unlucky enough, the medical staff at the hospital he had been transferred to had not read his medical records. In a bid to stabilise him, they administered him with drugs, one of which Bill was allergic to.

This was written in his medical notes, but it appears that nobody bothered to check before administering the drugs.

Bill’s body went into anaphylactic shock [allergic reaction], and the response was so severe that Bill’s heart stopped beating, and his breath became laboured. For 14 minutes, Bill Morgan was clinically dead as doctors could not find a heartbeat.

After 14 long minutes, Bill Morgan was finally stabilised, and his heart began to beat again, but Bill was not out of the woods just yet. The heart attack and allergic reaction had thrown Bill’s body into a coma.

His vitals were doing well, but he was completely unresponsive. Doctors worried about Bill’s condition, as being without a heartbeat and oxygen for 14 minutes can have devastating effects on the body.

Bill’s family and girlfriend rushed to his side, staying with him and talking to him. Many patients who have been in a coma have reported that they can hear what is going on around them despite being unable to move.

Doctors informed Bill’s family of the possible implications of his condition. As the days passed, Bill remained unresponsive.

Bill’s family were advised to get together and make a difficult decision. Should they take him off life support, or should they fight to get him back?

His family thankfully chose the latter despite advice from doctors. It is reported that Bill lay in a coma for between 12 and 15 days.

Eventually, Bill began to flutter his eyelids and was coming round.

I Will Survive

Two weeks after the fatal heart attack that left him clinically dead for 14 minutes and the allergic reaction that pushed his body into a coma, Bill Morgan awoke.

It didn’t take long for Bill’s normal functions to return. Within days, he was walking and talking with his family. The experience had shaken him and made him realise how precious and fragile life is. In late 1998, Bill Morgan was discharged from the hospital.

After staring death in the face and winning, Bill felt particularly lucky, so he headed to a store and purchased a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Bill grabbed a coin from his wallet and began scratching away, and as the dust cleared, Bill’s eyes widened. He had won a Toyota Corolla worth around $17,000 AUD.

Bill and his wife-to-be, Lisa, whom he had proposed to shortly after his heart attack and coma, ran to collect his winnings.

Usually, a man winning a $17,000 AUD car on a scratch card would only garner a mention in the latter pages of a newspaper, but Bill was no ordinary man.

**A 1998 Toyota Corolla, similar to the one Bill won.**

In 1999, a Melbourne TV station caught wind of Bill’s win and his incredible story. Bill’s grit and determination inspired them, and they wanted to air a segment about Bill’s big win.

The Next Big Win

He agreed, and in 1999, Bill and the TV crews went to the same store where he had purchased the first scratch card. According to reports, the crew asked Bill to recreate the moment, so he bought another card and moved into the camera’s frame.

Once again, Bill dug around for a loose coin and scratched the silver film. The Melbourne crews expected Bill to exclaim, “I have just won a car,” but different words would leave Bill Morgan’s lips.

After scratching the film away, Bill felt his whole body shake. He said he felt like he was going to have another heart attack. Looking directly at the camera, Bill shouted out, “I just won $250,000 AUD. I’m not joking.”

The camera crews were somewhat miffed by Bill’s idea of a prank, but Bill wasn’t joking. He showed everyone his winning ticket, running around the store in delight.

TV crews had just captured one of the luckiest moments in anyone’s life. Bill immediately picked up the phone and called his fiance, Lisa, to tell her the good news.

He gushed over his winnings, promising to buy the two a house so they could grow their lives together.

Bill Morgan had been clinically dead for 14 minutes and in a coma for over 2 weeks. Most people are not even lucky enough to survive that, let alone go on to win a car and $250,000.

Bill’s story was big in Australia but never reached the bounds of the rest of the world. That was until 2021, when footage of Bill’s extraordinary win went viral on social media.

Bill commented that he couldn’t believe something that happened 22 years ago was of great interest to the public.

He told the Daily Mail Australia, “I won $250,000. The house I live in, I own. I’ve got a nice enough car that I own. Sure, I had to retire because the heart got too much and I’m riddled with arthritis, but it was all for the best. Every day I get up and put on my shoes, even if I’m not real well I have a shuffle down the road and smell the roses, look at the sun and think about how lucky I am.”