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Man Blows $80,000 on Bucket List & Then Finds Out He's Not Dying

by Kiri Blakeley on June 20, 2012 at 3:38 PM

If diagnosed with a terminal disease and given only months left to live, many of us would do just what this couple did: Compile a bucket list and rapidly begin checking things off it. But what usually wouldn't cross our minds is, What if the diagnosis is wrong? That's what happened to married New Zealand couple Frank and Wilma (who didn't want to reveal their last names).

Frank was given a terminal cancer diagnosis, so he and his wife sold their house and decided to live it up until Frank's final moments. There's just one problem: The only thing that kicked the bucket was their bank account.

After getting the devastating news that Frank had cancer and only a few months left, the couple decided to sell their home at a major loss, and put their trips to places like Australia and Fiji on the credit cards. Wilma expected that Frank's life insurance payout would eventually wipe her debt clean. Only ... Frank's still alive. And, well, it turned out he didn't have cancer after all. Whoops!

You'd think the pair would be so ecstatic about this turn of events that they'd be celebrating from morning 'til night, but instead they lodged a complaint with medical authorities. Because now they are $80,000 in debt.

Hey, I think this couple needs to look on the bright side. We're always told to live life as if we're going to die tomorrow, and that's exactly what they did! Yeah, it now means they don't have a house to live in -- but they have memories.

By the time most of us are told we're dying, we're too sick or old to travel around the world and go on adventures, but not this couple. And unlike most bucket listers, these two can look at their bucket photo album for a long time!

Anyway, it's too bad they didn't stick with the Sexual Bucket List. It sounds a lot more fun and most of it costs nothing.

What would you do for your bucket list?

 

Image via Don DeBold/Flickr

Filed Under: accidents, death, in the news

Comments

17
  • MomaL...
    --

    MomaLlama

    June 20, 2012 at 3:41 PM

    Note to self:  Always get second opinion before embarking on Bucket List Challenge. 


  • Miche...
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    Michelephant

    June 20, 2012 at 3:54 PM
    Maybe if they had been living their lives to the fullest before notice of impending death, they wouldn't have felt the need to have an 80k bucket list.
  • Madam...
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    MadamButterphli

    June 20, 2012 at 4:00 PM

    I second that, MomaLlama!


  • the4m...
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    the4mutts

    June 20, 2012 at 4:06 PM
    "They're homeless... but they have memories"
    W.t.F. ??
    Why don't you try living off "memories"? That's no consolation.
    Sure, its fantastic that he's alive. No doubt. But you act like they shouldn't be pissed that he was misdiagnosed to begin with.
    The drs may not have forced them to spend every dime they had, but look at it this way:
    What if they spent it all on medical bills instead?
    When you're going to die, it costs money. Whether to enjoy the time you have left, or make your last days less painful, or pay off your debt. Misdiagnosing a terminal illness... that's far more negligent than trying to enjoy the time you have before the non-existant illness kills you
  • noneya79
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    noneya79

    June 20, 2012 at 4:27 PM

    Fred and Wilma... this made me giggle! 


  • noneya79
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    noneya79

    June 20, 2012 at 4:29 PM

    Wait, you started the story out as Fred and Wilma, then you switched it to Frank and Wilma... wtf?? lol


  • cmjaz
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    cmjaz

    June 20, 2012 at 5:49 PM
    This couple needs to take responsibility for their own actions. Top 10 rule of life....don't spend money that you don't have. Doctors make mistakes and I'm sure that the paperwork and the doctor says to get a second opinion. The doctor is not liable for their life choices. If I found out I was dying, I would love to do a bucket list but I wouldn't put my family into debt in order to do it.
  • bills...
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    billsfan1104

    June 20, 2012 at 7:21 PM
    Lol Moma.
  • BusyM...
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    BusyMom7789

    June 20, 2012 at 9:34 PM

    I understand to live life but you shouldn't spend money that didn't already have.  But on the bright side he's alive and should continue living his life because he could get hit by a car tomorrow.


  • Nicki
    -- Nonmember comment from

    Nicki

    June 20, 2012 at 11:37 PM
    My husband's uncle was diagnosed with cancer 6 weeks ago, and died last week. Frank and Wilma, you may not see it yet, but you are blessed.
1-10 of 17 comments

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