Coast Big Spender winner is brave Kiwi mum who 'couldn't be more deserving'

A Kiwi mum who's faced loss, grief and a terminal cancer diagnosis can't believe her luck at winning a $10,000 trip to Hawaii.

Others who entered Coast radio host Toni Street's Big Spender competition agree there couldn't have been a more deserving winner than Auckland woman Sophia Perera.

After being announced the winner last Friday, Perera, 46, tells the Herald she's "still in shock and disbelief".

Perera and Warren lost their first child Valentina in a tragic driveway accident in 2014. Photo / Supplied

Perera and husband Cam Warren's world crumbled when they lost their 3-year-old daughter Valentina in a tragic driveway accident in November 2014.

Perera became pregnant with her second child six months after Valentina's death, just as she was about to start fertility treatment.

Then came a devastating diagnosis - in 2020, Perera found out she had follicular dendritic cell sarcoma, an incurable cancer. She says there were moments when she was lying in a hospital bed wondering if she'd ever get the opportunity to go overseas again.

"I have spent a lot of the past year in hospital undergoing treatment and to be able to have something to look forward to that's positive and nothing to do with cancer is great," she says.

"To be able to get on a plane and go overseas was not even imaginable last year."

Perera and Warren tried to prepare their daughter, Augustina, 6, for being away from her mum and dad for the trip - then Hawaiian Airlines stepped in and told them to bring her along too. Now her parents are in the process of getting her an urgent passport before the family flies out on August 25.

"She's super excited. She went and told everyone at school," Perera shares.

The trio will have about four and a half days in Hawaii to spend their winnings, something Perera describes as "mind-blowing". She's got her eye on an Apple Watch, a designer handbag and stocking up on birthday and Christmas presents for Augustina.

Perera also hopes to spend some of the money on experiences they can share as a family and which her daughter will remember for years to come.

"My time's still not guaranteed. I still have incurable cancer, so if we can use that money to do some amazing experiences over there I'd love to. If I've got the energy, I'd love to be able to climb some mountains! And snorkelling or going on a cruise would be amazing."

Perera wants to spend the prize money on memorable experiences they can enjoy together as a family. Photo / Supplied

Perera is feeling good at the moment, despite suffering from chronic fatigue as a side effect of her treatment, and says winning the trip gave her a bit of a boost.

"The other people in the draw were so happy that I'd won and that means more than anything to me, that total strangers, people who wanted to win themselves, have told me 'I'm so happy if anyone won it was you'.

"My heart is just bursting that people are so happy for me. It's amazing, there really are good people in the world."

Perera reveals she "said a little prayer" to little Valentina the morning of the draw.

"I like to think that she had a little hand in it," she says of her beloved oldest daughter.

"As much as we've been through, so much pain and a rough journey over the last few years, I always think there's good to come. And I just remain positive and hope. Don't give up hope."