Sun Health Auxiliary drawing pays off for Waddell residents

A visit to their local hospital recently provided Ed and Diane Jansen with routine test results - and something much more rewarding.

As they were leaving Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West recently, the Waddell couple passed a table where a Sun Health Auxiliary volunteer was selling Southwest Drawing tickets, offering a grand prize of $1,000 in airfare on Southwest Airlines.

"We purchased a booklet for $5," Ed Jansen said. "It seemed like a worthy cause and we thought it would be nice, because we were looking for a way to attend my mother's 85th birthday party back in Michigan."

In August, the Jansens moved to Arizona from Michigan to be closer to their elder daughter and grandchildren, leaving many friends, relatives and 32 years of memories behind them as they worked to put their new home in order. One of the Jansen brothers, still in Michigan, recently called and told Ed of plans in the works to celebrate their mother, Marie's, birthday with a family reunion.

"There are eight children in our family, all living, and they would be coming from all parts of the country for this gathering," Ed Jansen said. "Truthfully, with all the costs of this new home, the furnishing and the landscaping, and of course, this economy, we weren't sure we would be able to go back for the party."

That changed when a winning ticket with Ed's name was drawn from a tumbler containing several thousand others at the Sun Health Auxiliary's Garden Soiree April 17.

"The phone rang, and it was someone asking for Ed," Diane Jansen said. "I heard him say, ‘Well, that's the best news I've had today,' and I knew. It was great, and a real surprise, because we never win anything."

"I am so happy the Jansens are able to go and be a part of that landmark birthday party," auxiliary chairwoman Barbara Ryan said. "At the same time, the auxiliary will be able to use the $5,824 in proceeds to purchase an ultrasound stretcher for Banner Boswell Medical Center in Sun City, so this drawing truly has benefitted two very worthy causes."

The Southwest Drawing is one of two major prize drawings conducted annually by Sun Health Auxiliary to help purchase medical equipment for Banner Boswell and Del E. Webb medical centers and the Sun Health Research Institute. The Fast Cash Drawing, which begins in the fall, provides five chances to win, with a $1,000 grand prize and four $500 prizes.

Diane Jansen already is considering the purchase of some Fast Cash tickets.

"I need a new refrigerator," she said, grinning. "Maybe I'll hold out for a few months."