The Saga Begins
It all started when a woman named Lydia Fairchild applied for financial assistance from Washington state. At the time, Lydia was 26 years old and did not have a job to sustain her and her family. One of the requirements was to prove that all of her children were her own.
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This, of course, seemed standard. Lydia had no reason to fear and nothing to hide. She submitted the required information to the offices and waited to hear back. She was completely taken aback at what happened next.
Social Services Showed Up
When social services showed up, Lydia still did not know she had any reason to fear, as she knew her children to be her own. She had been pregnant with each of her children and had birthed them. She again assumed that this was a natural next step in the process.
However, Lydia was not aware of the serious situation she had found herself in. According to Lydia, as soon as she sat down the social service workers began peppering her with questions, asking her what her true identity was.
A Surreal Nightmare
Lydia kept insisting that her children were in fact her own. But the social service workers had evidence that could not be argued against. The DNA of her children compared to her own did not match.
She had photos of the children growing through the years, she had been present every step of the way. But the evidence stated clearly that the children and Lydia were not related.
No Lawyer Would Take the Case
Social services let Lydia know that they could take her children from her at any point. Terrified, Lydia called her obstetrician, Dr. Dreisbach. Her doctor was there for all of the births of her children. The doctor agreed to testify for her in court.
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However, no lawyer was willing to take the case. Lydia and her children went through another DNA test and the results came back the same. Lawyers saw it as a losing battle.
A Strange Coincidence Across the Country
Across the country in Boston, a woman named Karen Keegan was experiencing a surreal case of the spooks too. Karen needed a kidney transplant and was hoping one of her sons would be a match for a transplant. Karen underwent a DNA test and came across shocking news.
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None of Karen’s children’s DNA matched her own. What was supposed to be a routine check to move forward with a life saving surgery ended up being a baffling mystery.
There Was A Genetic Clue
The doctors took DNA from multiple parts of Karen’s body in an effort to understand what was going on. One part of her body in particular provided the key answers to solve the mystery. The DNA in Karen’s thyroid nodule did in fact match her children.
This discovery would be extremely helpful to the fearful and struggling Lydia across the country, who was in danger of losing her children.
A Medical Phenomenon
What both Karen and Lydia were being put through the ringer by was a medical phenomenon called “chimerism.” Sometimes, when two eggs are fertilized, one of the eggs absorbs the other one. If the eggs are still fused, the resulting union can still possess two genetic codes. Crazy!
Karen’s mystery was solved and she was glad to put it behind her, as she had more pressing things to focus on then the strange mystery of her own children’s DNA. Lydia had a lot on the line when it came to keeping her children.
A Case Is Made For Lydia
Eventually, Lydia was able to get a lawyer. Attorney Tindell read about the case in New England in the Journal of Medicine. Upon reading this, he requested that the court give them time to allow Lydia to go through the same tests that Karen had gone through.
Luckily, it was shown through DNA testing that Lydia also had the same condition as Karen. Her children were her own.
“Probably Wouldn’t Have My Kids”
Lydia said “ I probably wouldn’t have my kids today if they didn’t discover her situation. They wouldn’t have known to even consider me as a chimera.” Thankfully, by pure chance of Karen’s condition and her testing, and Lydia’s lawyer uncovering the truth, Lydia was able to keep her children.
Source: Life Daily
We are glad that everything worked out for these two women and they got to the bottom of this strange and rare medical mystery.