A father who lost his job because of a muscle disease has revealed how he’s given back to the community that supported him through their lowest moments after winning £1million on the lottery.
Grant, 43, and his wife Taryn Hawkes, 42, from Cornwall, were left in a dire financial situation after Grant was forced to stop working when ‘both his legs snapped’ due to a crippling muscle condition.
Taryn revealed she was once left with £5 to feed her children Holly, 14 and Ethan, 11, for a week – and would rely on the help of neighbours who delivered food packages, helped with bills and paid for their children’s school uniforms.
Appearing on This Morning today, the couple said they have given back to the community, often making sizeable donations to their local food bank after scooping up the lottery win two years ago.
Grant and Taryn Hawkes, from Cornwall, were left in a dire financial situation after Grant, 43, was forced to stop working when ‘both his les snapped’ due to a crippling muscle condition
‘I was out working and I just lost feeling in my foot’, said Grant, ‘I thought it would come back, I had some tests and that sort of thing’.
‘They went on for a few months until they diagnosed me with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
‘A few weeks later they said I had to stop work, I thought it would be fine and got a bit of a talking to and said “Alright I’ll do something else”.
‘Then the health just deteriorated and about three of four weeks later both my legs snapped, the tenants and ligaments had all torn in my legs.’
Appearing on This Morning today, the couple revealed how they have given back to the local community who helped them through their lowest moments
The family’s finances deteriorated and they were forced to rely on Taryn’s small wage as a teaching assistant.
‘We were in quite a pickle’, said Taryn, ‘Not that anyone would have known by looking at us.
‘We got so bad that we had £5 in my pocket to feed the children for a week and I would go down to the reduced aisle, you would just hope there was something there you could make a meal out of for the children.
‘If I needed washing up liquid you’d pray it was on offer because you knew it took up most of the budget. It was incredibly hard.’
Taryn, 42, revealed to hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford she was once left with £5 to feed her children Holly, 14 and Ethan, 11, for a week
But the local community were ‘absolutely fantastic’ when it came to supporting the family – chipping in for bills, buying food and helping pay for their children’s clothes.
Taryn explained the couple had lived in the area for ‘six years’, saying: ‘At our hardest moment we would find a bag of food at the doorstep, they would give money towards the bill, they would help with the children, they brought clothing and school shoes for our children.
‘The kindness of a human can exceed monetary value, sometimes it’s giving a smile and being able to lift them up and that’s what they did for us.’
The couple say their lotto windfall was ‘massively’ life changing and they have been keen to use their fortune to support the community in any way they can.
The couple say their lotto windfall was ‘massively’ life changing and they have been keen to use their fortune to support the community in any way they can
Grant said: ‘We’ve always tried [to help], be it from talking to people, helping with problems or things like that.
‘Occasionally we help out with small donations, Tam will go and buy chocolates if they’re having a bad day and post it through the door or a cake or something like that
Tam added: ‘People have fallen on harder times and when we needed the help most they were there to support us.
‘So we’ve been donating to the food bank regularly, and we’re not the only one’s doing that, but with our win we’re able to doing a little bit more.’
Following the win, the pair began to focus on Grant’s health, and were able to pay for private yoga, mindfulness classes and hydrotherapy, which have both helped him in his health journey.