A Perth woman whose become an overnight internet sensation after her half-naked son stole the show during Telethon’s live car giveaway has revealed the heartbreaking story behind her yearly donation.
Falziah Cooper, an aviation screening officer at Perth Airport and single mum of four, won a brand new Hyundai Kona on Sunday night — and her reaction couldn’t have been better.
The Victoria Park local was absolutely ecstatic when AFL legend Shane Crawford and Sunrise star Katie Brown arrived on her doorstep to hand over her new car, with the mum jumping up and down with excitement.
But the situation took a hilarious turn when her son, Amir, peered around the corner of a doorway, wearing only a towel, to see what all the commotion was about.
Catching the half-naked man peeking around the corner, Crawford and Brown pulled him into frame with the situation leaving the panel back at RAC Arena in stitches.
Ms Cooper and her son then tested out the new car, with photos showing Amir sitting in the car still wet from the shower.
And the win couldn’t have been more deserving, with Ms Cooper saying she couldn’t believe her luck when she found out she had won.
“I saw them pull up outside, and I was just screaming, “I won a car!,” Ms Cooper said.
“That’s when my son came out and we heard the door banging.
“I didn’t know what happened — I was this crazy woman!”
Ms Cooper, who has donated to Telethon for decades and gave $100 to the cause this year, said the prize couldn’t have come at a better time as she was staring down the barrel of a $10,000 bill to fix her recently broken down car.
“My car just broke down (and I haven’t been able) to get to work,” she said.
“I worked, like, over 80 hours because I was trying to put aside money to fix the car.”
Ms Cooper’s reason for donating to Telethon goes back 15 years.
When her son was just seven years old, he required serious hospital treatment at Perth Children’s Hospital for blood poisoning and nearly died.
“He was sick when he was seven — he is 22 now,” she said.
“He was in ICU and we almost lost him — he was in hospital for a while.”
Around a three-hour drive south, another lucky family found out they had also won a car prize.
Trevor and Brenda Crispin were called by Crawford and Brown to tell them the exciting news of their own Kona.
Mr Crispin said the car came at just the right time, with the couple living in a friend’s lot in a caravan park as he cares full-time for his wife.
The couple could not believe their luck after a difficult week.
“We were totally blown away just because the day before we had our little dog put down, so we’d been pretty emotional,” he said.
“It just came at the right time, it’s just totally blowing us away, we only gave what we could, we couldn’t afford much.”
Even facing tough financial times themselves, the Crispins were still determined to give anything they could, giving a $10 donation this year.
The cause also hits close to home for them, with one of their grandchildren having been in and out of hospital regularly with type one diabetes and coeliac disease.
“We have a one of our grandchildren, he’s got type one diabetes and he’s got celiac disease, so he’s got both really hard things to deal with,” Mr Crispin said.
“His mum and dad have had him in and out of hospital at many times.
“They’ve had many times staying there and they’ve got three other kids trying to deal with as well, and we’re just not up in Perth to be able to help, having to live in Busselton.”