2008: May 7th Good News (New Vocal Cancer Treatment Preserves Voice, Fire Department Rescues Horse, more...)

Good Morning All,

My apologies, no intro today. I'm exhausted. I've got 9 articles for you to peruse though. I hope you enjoy! :) See you tomorrow.



Today's Top 5:
1. Successful New Laser Treatment For Vocal-cord Cancer Preserves Voice (Science Daily)
2. Horse Resting After Water Rescue (Rutland Herald)
3. Early Warning Breakthrough on Ectopic Pregnancies Gives Hope to Thousands of Women (Daily Mail UK)
4. In Autistic Boy's Hands, Paper and Scissors Express an Amazing Spectrum
5. K12 Inc. Announces Operation Lemonade - A Nationwide Effort in Support of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and the Fight Against Childhood Cancer (Earth Times)



Honorable Mentions:
1. Off-duty Chicago Firefighter Saves Man from Burning Car (FireRescue1.com)
2. Hoarded Containers Have Recyclers Hopping (CBC Canada)
3. Man Rescued from Capsized Canoe in Chaleur Bay (CBC Canada)
4. Minnesota Couple Claims $180 Million Powerball Jackpot (Marin Independent Journal)

Today's Top 5:

1. Successful New Laser Treatment For Vocal-cord Cancer Preserves Voice
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103722.htm
ScienceDaily
May 7, 2008

An innovative laser treatment for early vocal-cord cancer, developed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), successfully restores patients' voices without radiotherapy or traditional surgery, which can permanently damage vocal quality. This new option for patients, which has now been used in more than 25 patients, was reported on May 1 at the annual meeting of the American Broncho-Esophagological Association, and the data will soon be published as a supplement to the Annals of Otology, Rhinology, & Laryngology.

"We had previously adapted lasers that target blood vessels to treat precancerous vocal-cord dysplasia and a variety of benign vascular lesions. We have now applied that experience to treat vocal-cord cancer, which is diagnosed in several thousand American patients each year," says Steven Zeitels, MD, director of the MGH Voice Center.

Zeitels' team began applying pulsed lasers to the treatment of early vocal-cord cancer more than five years ago. After successfully treating the first eight patients with the pulsed-dye laser, Zeitels' group switched to the more precise pulsed Potassium-Titanyl-Phosphate (KTP) laser, which is even less likely to damage delicate vocal-cord tissue. The use of specific wavelengths of laser light to target blood vessels was originally applied to the removal of vascular skin lesions like port-wine stains by Rox Anderson, MD, now director of the MGH Wellman Center of Photomedicine. In a close collaboration with Anderson, Zeitels previously developed application of these angiolytic lasers to benign and precancerous vocal-cord lesions.

As Zeitels reported at the ABEA meeting, the first 22 patients receiving pulsed laser treatment for vocal-cord cancer are cancer-free up to 5 years after treatment, without removal of vocal-cord tissue or loss of voice quality. Some have required second or third laser treatments to remove residual disease, but another benefit of the therapy is that it does not rule out future therapeutic options. Zeitels notes that this treatment has become a standard management approach at MGH and should soon spread to other institutions in the US and abroad. He estimates that 90 percent of patients with early vocal-cord cancer would be candidates for pulsed-KTP laser treatment.

"Currently the optimal angiolytic laser for vocal-cord problems, the pulsed-KTP laser is a critical innovation in the instrumentation arsenal of the laryngeal surgeon," says Zeitels. "It has greatly enhanced the precision by which we can perform many procedures for chronic laryngeal diseases, both in the operating room, accompanied by the surgical microscope, and in the office." Zeitels is the Eugene B. Casey Professor of Laryngeal Surgery at Harvard Medical School (HMS).

The MGH Voice Center team has created a number of groundbreaking procedures and was the first in the world to treat vocal cords and other structures in the larynx with controlled pulses of the green KTP laser light. Zeitels has been recognized for his 2006 use of pulsed-KTP laser to treat Steven Tyler of the rock band Aerosmith for vocal-cord hemorrhage. With his unique perspective on voice restoration and preservation resulting from years of treating elite singers, Zeitels was called on to work with Julie Andrews after she lost her singing voice due to a failed surgical procedure. He subsequently has collaborated with Miss Andrews to increase awareness of voice problems and spearhead a research project investigating new voice restoration surgical procedures.

Adapted from materials provided by Massachusetts General Hospital, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




2. Horse Resting After Water Rescue
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080507/NEWS04/805070387/1002/NEWS01
May 7, 2008
By SARA-MEGAN WALSH Herald Staff

Both Kyrie and her owner, Susan Musial, were looking forward to some quiet time and rest Tuesday following their harrowing ordeal Monday night.

Kyrie is the 26-year-old horse who struggled for hours after falling into a spring off West Creek Road. She was rescued by the Pittsford Fire Department.

Dr. Lisa Hickman, treating veterinarian of Clarendon Animal Clinic, said Kyrie suffered injuries including a deep gouge to her front right leg joint, a network of lacerations along her underside, and a deep puncture wound to her flank in addition to shock and exhaustion.

"Well, I think we're going to have to take it day by day, infection is going to be a possibility," Hickman said. She gave a good prognosis for Kyrie's eventual recovery.

Hickman praised the work of the fire department for their careful action in rescuing the injured horse.

"She was lucky there's so many horse people among the Pittsford Fire Department," Hickman said. "There were all these familiar faces, at least half of them were clients."

Pittsford Fire Department received a 911 call that a passing motorist had spotted a horse that appeared to be stuck in a well.

Rescuers originally described the horse as stuck in a well, but Musial, who owns three other horses, said Kyrie fell into a natural spring that is encased with a culvert in one area.

The uncovered enclosure measures 5 feet in diameter and is approximately 4 to 5 feet deep according to Musial.

"I've never had an issue with that, it's been like that for years," Musial said. "I honestly don't know what happened."

"When we arrived the horse was entirely submerged under water," said Pittsford Fire Chief Tom Hooker. He described how Kyrie had only her head and front hooves above the water.

Hooker said he cut a piece of the department's 4-inch supply line to thread a rope through, which was then attached to a tractor to pull out the horse. The tractor belonged to neighboring horse owner Debbie Hathaway.

Hickman and Dr. Donald C. Hunt of Middlebury Large Animal Clinic were called to the scene in order to care for the injured horse.

"I got paged a little after 8 p.m. that a horse was in a well," Hickman said. "Then I got a call that the horse was dying."

"On the way down, you never know exactly what you're going to find — so I did have some concerns," Hunt said.

Musial, who works as a respiratory therapist at Rutland Regional Medical Center, had received a phone call while at work at approximately 7:40 p.m. from her 22-year-old son, Travis Bovey, reporting that Kyrie had fallen into the spring. She was unable to arrive on the scene until after the rescue was complete.

"I was beside myself waiting for my replacement to come," Musial said. She said she was kept up to date on the rescue attempt by her son, who called her multiple times throughout the night with updates.

"As soon as I heard the situation I knew there that was a possibility of having to put her down," Musial said. "I was prepared to make that decision."

Hooker said the rescuers' hope was renewed when Kyrie managed to stand on her own, then proceed to make her way back to her stall.

"The fact that she was standing and went immediately to eating was promising," Musial said.

One thing that remains unknown is how exactly Kyrie managed to fall into the spring. According to Musial, she has let Kyrie graze in that pasture for the past 10 years.

Hunt said he has seen this with other animals. He said he believed Kyrie fell into the spring back end first. Hunt came up with a couple of theories as to why the fall occurred: perhaps the horses were playing in the pasture, or the accident was the result of Kyrie being bossed around.

"I think it's a freak thing, but even though it's a freak thing I think precautions need to be taken," Hickman said.

For the immediate future, Musial said she plans to keep her horses out of the pasture where the natural spring is until it can be fenced off. She has already measured the encased area so she can start making a cover for the spring.

"I think you never really think about the dangers of what could happen till it happens," Musial said. "Hindsight is 2-0/20."



3. Early Warning Breakthrough on Ectopic Pregnancies Gives Hope to Thousands of Women
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=564509&in_page_id=1770
Last updated at 11:28am on 7th May 2008

Experts have developed a breakthrough test for ectopic pregnancies which could help thousands of women. The condition occurs when a foetus develops outside the womb.

The special blood test can check for abnormalities when a women is just a few weeks pregnant.

It has been developed by doctors at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust and is expected to be available on the NHS within a year.

Early diagnosis by doctors is critical because the risk of physical damage - and even death - to the mother increases as her pregnancy advances.

Ectopic pregnancies affect more than one women in 100 and are the fourth most common cause of maternal deaths in the UK.

The Countess of Wessex and actress Nicole Kidman are among those to have suffered the heartbreak of losing babies as a result of the life-threatening condition.

It occurs when the embryo implants itself in the fallopian tubes or even the abdomen and can be caused by several factors - older women are more likely to suffer it, as are those who have a history of the condition.

Babies which develop "ectopically" can't survive and these pregnancies can leave a woman unable to have children in future because of scarring.

Existing tests include blood screening and ultrasound but these are not accurate in the early stages of a woman conceiving.

The new diagnosis is based on testing for eight special "markers" in the blood, which show up at between four and six weeks into a pregnancy.

The team of doctors who have developed the test include Adeyemi Coker, a pregnancy expert, and biochemist Dr Kevin Spencer who also pioneered an early test for Downs Syndrome.

Their discovery means doctors now have more treatment options for patients and increases the chance of women having a successful pregnancy in future.

Trials of the test have already been conducted with women who have suffered an ectopic pregnancy.

It is being backed by NHS Innovations, the agency which identifies and helps develop health breakthroughs.

Nicole Kidman suffered an ectopic pregnancy early in her marriage to Tom Cruise. She and husband Keith Urban are expecting their first child in July

Chief executive David Chilvers said: "If you don't catch an ectopic pregnancy early, the woman would have to go through a medical procedure which could cause problems in having future children.

"This is also costly from an NHS point of view. But if you catch this early, then you can use just a drug to induce the pregnancy and protect the patient from complications."




4. In Autistic Boy's Hands, Paper and Scissors Express an Amazing Spectrum
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004397229_autart07m.html
By Nancy Bartley
Seattle Times staff reporter

In Wil Kerner's world, happiness and grief — and all the feelings that come between — are puzzle pieces as alien as the curious construction-paper characters in the art he assembles on his grandmother's living-room carpet.
What the autistic 12-year-old can't express verbally or in social interaction he can show through his carefully cut out geometric shapes assembled into characters in a paper collage, a talent the staff at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center calls a rare artistic gift. Large red circles become heads, delicate strips of fringed white paper become hair, and finely cut arches are shaped into eyebrows.

The art — and the artist — intrigues those who study autism. Dr. Stephen Dager, interim director of the University of Washington's Autism Center, who has been studying brain anatomy and chemistry in autism, is mystified by Wil's artistic talents. Autistic people generally pay little attention to eyes during social interaction, studies show, and usually are unaware of others' emotions. Yet, Wil has the ability to mimic human emotion through his art.
Wil doesn't understand numbers, has limited speech ability and very limited social skills. He has a brief attention span, tends to be compulsive and doesn't like his routine interrupted, and while he seems oblivious to others' subtle facial expressions, he manages not only to reproduce them but to do so by cutting them out of paper.

Those who study autism wonder if Wil's remarkable gift is a means of compensation for other deficits or a matter of serendipity.

In the past, Wil would have been called a "savant," a term now considered insensitive. Dager calls him extraordinarily talented.

Last week, Wil was honored at a reception in the Harborview cafeteria, where his art is on display through the month. He fidgeted at a table in the corner with a pile of colored paper in front of him, as dozens of people milled through the exhibit, challenging Wil's need for a calm environment.

Guest of honor or not, he finally had enough and shouted. He left for a quiet place as guests continued to admire his work.

The hospital has an art program and features artists year-round. When art director Peggy Weise saw Wil's work, she was intrigued.

"It's full of symbolism. Once you spend time with it, it's actually quite sophisticated. You can appreciate it first on the cursory level, and then you can appreciate its more sophisticated qualities," Weise said.

"Something going on"

Wil, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 2, went to special classes in the Issaquah School District until two years ago but failed to thrive and began having panic attacks, said his grandmother, Susan Mooring. He was allowed to be tutored privately at Mooring's home just outside Renton.

With the help of his teacher, Leroy Maxwell, Wil, at 10, slowly began to learn to speak, something he seldom had done, and to read.

Then one day his father took him to a warehouse store and granted his wish for colorful construction paper, letting him buy an entire cartload. Wil's first collages — circle-headed people with one eye each, a boy and girl holding hands, a blue baby with a shy smile, began to take shape. Mooring glanced at what he was doing and was stunned.

"There was really something going on there," she said of her grandson's art.
Although she had no formal art training, she believed Wil's creations were more than haphazard assemblages. To capture a design before Wil could destroy it, Mooring photographed each one and collected all the pieces. Later, she reassembled each collage on a large piece of artboard and hired a photographer to take digital photographs. Now hundreds of collages later, they're selling — sometimes for as much as $1,000 each in the case of three sold at a charity auction to benefit autism.

Amazing skill

One collage, of a pig with a downcast look and raised shoulder, gives a strong sense of isolation and sadness, Mooring said. While Wil names most of his work simply — "Blue Baby" and "Pals," for instance — Mooring named the pig collage "Exclusion." It was something Wil experienced, she said.

Another one of his creations is a collage of rectangles with a large figure, vaguely resembling Donald Trump, seemingly overlooking buildings. "He calls this one 'Rat,' " Mooring said.

That he can create facial expressions so well is particularly amazing, Dager said, because autistic people tend not to maintain eye contact or study facial expressions.

"Is it that their brains are wired differently? That's part of what we're studying," Dager said.

As for Wil, time for his art is a reward for doing schoolwork, Maxwell said. And when Wil begins to cut, the paper flies, the shapes emerge, the floor is littered with scraps of color and Maxwell and Mooring wait and watch for the magic.

Nancy Bartley: 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com



5. K12 Inc. Announces Operation Lemonade - A Nationwide Effort in Support of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and the Fight Against Childhood Cancer
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/k12-inc-announces-operation-lemonade,381748.shtml
Posted : Tue, 06 May 2008 16:39:34 GMT
Author : VA-K12
Category : Press Release

HERNDON, Va. - (Business Wire) K12 Inc., (www.k12.com) the nation’s leading provider of K-12 online school programs, is mobilizing thousands of kids across the country to join in the fight against childhood cancer. On Saturday, May 31 and Sunday June 1, 2008—K12’s Operation Lemonade Stand Weekend—thousands of K12 parents, kids and teachers will host lemonade stands in their neighborhoods to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a leading national charity that has raised over $19 million for pediatric cancer research.

The response has been overwhelming. Already, more than 1,500 stands have been registered across the country and the numbers continue to climb everyday! Operation Lemonade is the largest end-of-the-school year event sponsored by K12.

The inspiration for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (www.alexslemonade.org) began in July 2000 when a beautiful four-year-old cancer patient named Alexandra "Alex" Scott announced she was holding a lemonade stand to raise money to help her doctors find a cure for kids suffering with cancer. For the next four years, despite her deteriorating health, Alex held lemonade stands to raise money for childhood cancer research. On August 1, 2004, Alex died peacefully at the age of eight, but not before raising more than one million dollars. Her legacy continues today through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. The Foundation will host its own national weekend entitled Lemonade Days, June 6-8, when an estimated 10,000 volunteers will host over 2,000 Alex’s Lemonade Stands around the nation.

“It is evident through our work that Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation believes in kids helping kids,” said Jay Scott, Alex’s father. “We are so pleased to watch K12 mobilize thousands of children across the country. It is truly exemplary of our vision and highlights how our supporters continue to help raise awareness and funds in the fight against childhood cancer.”

Last year, Alex’s parents, Jay and Liz Scott spoke at K12’s Making Waves Conference in Philadelphia, PA. The weekend conference brought together sixty-four K12 students from across the country to participate in an exciting program that teaches kids the values of leadership, teamwork, and community service. Since then, K12 has adopted Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation as its primary charitable organization and developed Operation Lemonade as the company’s first major nationwide service project involving K12 parents, kids, teachers, and staff. The spirit of the cause—that little ripples can make huge waves—reflects K12’s core mission to help change the world by making an exceptional education available to every child regardless of geographic, financial, or demographic circumstances.

“K12 is proud to support the mission of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and help contribute to the fight against childhood cancer,” said Ron Packard, Founder and CEO of K12 Inc. “We are devoted not just to building strong minds, but strong character as well, and we are thrilled to see how K12’s Operation Lemonade is being embraced by so many families and schools. We believe this nationwide service project will inspire many children and leave an indelible impression on them that they really can make a difference in the world—one lemonade stand at a time.”

K12 Kids Make a Difference in the World

Operation Lemonade is only one example of how many of the 40,000 K12 kids across the country are volunteering, serving, and changing the world!

After Hurricane Katrina, ten-year-old Zach Bonner, a fourth-grade student in the K12 Florida Virtual Academy, wanted to do something to help the victims. Zach decided he would begin collecting water and supplies in his neighborhood to send to the impacted areas. Four months and 27 truckloads of water and supplies later, he wanted to expand his service to help more people in need. So he started the Little Red Wagon Foundation (www.littleredwagonfoundation.com), which raises money and supplies for homeless or suffering families, particularly kids.

Last November, Zach walked 280 miles in 23 days from Tampa to Tallahassee to raise money and awareness for National Homeless Youth Awareness Month.

In February, Zach received the “Volvo for Life” Butterfly Award, which was named after its first recipient, Alex Scott. For his efforts, Zach received a $25,000 donation to his charity and a trip to New York City where he was joined by Jay and Liz Scott and honored at an awards ceremony.

Like Zach, many other amazing K12 kids across the U.S. are contributing in their local communities through charitable works and service projects.

About K12

K12 Inc., a technology-based education company, is a leading provider of individualized, one-to-one education programs to public and private online schools, classrooms, and directly to families.

K12 is the nation’s leader in K-12 online school programs. K12 provides its curriculum and academic services to more than 40,000 students in 17 statewide online schools and other e-learning programs across the country. K12’s mission is to unleash children’s potential and maximize their success in life by providing access to an engaging and effective education regardless of geographic, financial, or demographic circumstances.

K12 offers education solutions for students using an outstanding, highly effective curriculum that enables mastery of core concepts and skills for students of all abilities. The K12 program combines a cognitive research-based curriculum with an individualized learning approach for online schools and other educational applications.

More information on K12 and Operation Lemonade can be found at www.K12.com.

© 2008 K12 Inc. K12 is a registered trademark, and the K12 logo, Unleash the xPotential and xPotential are trademarks of K12 Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.



Honorable Mentions:

1. Off-duty Chicago Firefighter Saves Man from Burning Car
The Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.firerescue1.com/news/399768-Off-duty-Chicago-firefighter-saves-man-from-burning-car/
May 05, 2008

CHICAGO — An off-duty Chicago firefighter pulled a man from a burning car after the man crashed into a Northwest Side residence.

The veteran firefighter with the help of two citizens smashed the man’s window with a fire extinguisher, unlocked the driver-side door and pulled the unconscious man from his burning vehicle, according to Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joe Roccasalva said.

The crash happened about 11:15 a.m. in the 3000 block of North Newland Avenue.

"The guy [victim] could been much worse off if he wasn’t pulled out," Roccasalva said.

The man was breathing slow and was treated with oxygen on the scene by paramedics before he was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Roccasalva said the man suffered second-degree burns.

The firefighter, Mike Gunia, 56, who has been a firefighter for 22 years, was at his residence across the street when he heard the crash and responded to the scene.

When Gunia and two other citizens responded to the crash, the car was in flames, and the house it crashed into was on fire, Roccasalva said. The house had damage to its siding and one door. No one in the house was injured.

After pulling the man out of the car, Gunia went back home.

“Even after it was over, he went home and went about his business,” Roccasalva said.



2. Hoarded Containers Have Recyclers Hopping
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2008/05/06/can-recycle.html
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 2:57 PM AT

Prince Edward Islanders were lining up at recycling depots Monday to cash in on non-refillable containers some had been collecting for months.

'We've been saving for a little while'
— Shane Murray, hopeful recyclerMonday was the first day Islanders could claim a 5 cent refund for their empty cans and plastic bottles. The new refund system was brought in after the ban on selling flavoured, carbonated beverages in non-refillable containers was lifted Saturday. The ban, in place since 1984, was replaced by a 10-cent surcharge on all juice, pop, sports drinks, water, alcohol and other beverages sold in non-refillable containers. Consumers can get half of that charge back by returning the empty containers to one of 10 depots around the Island.

Shane Murray was in the queue at Aubrey's Bottle Exchange in Charlottetown at lunch time Monday. His car was packed with 600 water bottles. Despite his obvious stockpiling, the bottle exchange paid him a nickel for each one.

"We've been saving for a little while. I think it's five cents a piece, so [it will] be like 30 bucks probably," he said.

"Not a whole lot. A tank of gas, maybe."

At Charlottetown Bottles and Metals, workers were sorting cans and bottles into 10 large, canvas bags, each big enough to hold 1,200 containers. Owner Bill Kinney is still not sure how the new system will work out.

"Hard to know. It's all new to us yet. It's different for us. It's not the way we usually sorted stuff," said Kinney.

"We'll catch on."

Officially, the province has said recyclers should only pay the nickel for containers that were sold with the 10-cent surcharge implemented Saturday. In practice, that is almost impossible to police and just about everyone got a refund Monday. Only people with crushed cans or with tops on their water bottles were turned away.



3. Man Rescued from Capsized Canoe in Chaleur Bay
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/05/06/canoe-rescue.html?ref=rss
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 4:41 PM AT

An RCMP officer in the Jacquet River, N.B., area is being credited with saving a man from drowning in Chaleur Bay over the weekend.

Cpl. Daniel Melanson received a call on Saturday that a canoe had capsized in the bay in northern New Brunswick.

When Melanson arrived on the scene he found one man in the water and another on shore.

"I met with another man there that was soaking wet," Melanson told CBC News. "He had tried a couple times, he told me, but the water was just so cold that he couldn't make it out to the man, so I told him I was going to give it a try and see."

The man in the water couldn't swim and he wasn't wearing a life-jacket, Melanson said.

Melanson was able to wade out into the bay quite far, he said, before he had to swim out and retrieve the man, who was about 30 metres away from the shore.

"The male at that point was semi-conscious," Melanson said. "His head had come out of the water again and he was moaning at that point."

Melanson was able to bring the man to shore, where he was taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia. The 45-year-old was in stable condition on Tuesday afternoon.




4. Minnesota Couple Claims $180 Million Powerball Jackpot
http://www.marinij.com/ci_9175369
By ELIZABETH DUNBAR Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 05/06/2008 08:02:22 PM PDT


ROSEVILLE, Minn.—Paul and Sue Rosenau say they already have everything they need, so their lives won't change that much after winning a $180.1 million Powerball jackpot.
"We realize that money is probably not as important as friendship and helping others. And that's what we hope to do with it," Paul Rosenau said at a news conference Tuesday when they accepted a ceremonial check.

Rosenau, 54, is a heavy equipment operator and his wife, Sue, works at an agricultural research institute. The couple from Waseca will take the prize from last Saturday's drawing in a lump-sum of $59.6 million after taxes.

Their win came five years to the day of the death of a 2-year-old granddaughter, Makayla, who had Krabbe disease, a nervous system disorder.

"It's very emotional to know that there's a reason for this," Sue Rosenau said.

She said the family has been involved in trying to get a Krabbe test part of routine newborn screenings. Their winnings may go toward those efforts, but the Rosenaus haven't made any decisions.

"It's been such a whirlwind," Paul Rosenau said. "It still hasn't sunk in."

Rosenau said there are things he and his 54-year-old wife have dreamed of—a new house, a vacation to Hawaii, taking a trip with their children—but for the most part they felt fortunate before they found out they won the Powerball jackpot.

"We don't need a lot. We've got more than what we need," he said. "We want to have a regular life."