Switched-at-birth women meet after 56 years

Two women switched at birth met for the first time 56 years on after the hospital blunder was finally exposed.

Kay Rene Reed Qualls and DeeAnn Angell Shafer were born at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner, eastern Oregon, in 1953. They grew up happily, got married, had children and became grandparents.

But last last summer their lives were turned upside down when they found out that they were switched at birth.

They recently met for the first time and underwent DNA tests after a woman who knew both their mothers called Ms Qualls’ brother, Bobby Reed, with her suspicion.

Mr Reed said the 86-year-old woman knew his mother and had also lived next door to the Angell family.

“She said she had something she had to get off her chest,” he told the East Oregonian newspaper.

The woman, who he would not identify, told him that Marjorie Angell had insisted she had been given the wrong baby after the nurses returned from bathing the two newborns, but her concerns were brushed off.

The woman showed Mr Reed a photo.

“It looked like Kay Rene in about 7th or 8th grade,” he said. But it was DeeAnn Shafer’s sister.

“Kay Rene is not a Reed,” the woman insisted. “DeeAnn is a Reed.”

Mr Reed was stunned, learning later that rumours of a mix-up had been around for years. In early February, Ms Shafer learned the truth in a telephone call from her sister Juanita.

“Do you remember those rumours of being switched at birth?” she asked, and went on to provide the update.

“Does this mean I’m not invited to the family reunion?” Ms Shafer joked.

Ms Qualls, Mr Reed and one of their sisters met Ms Shafer at a Kennewick, Washington, clinic last month for DNA testing. A week later, Ms Qualls got the results, learning her likely probability of being related to her brother and sister was zero.

“I cried,” she said. “I wanted to be a Reed – my life wasn’t my life.”

Ms Shafer’s DNA report said she had 99.9% of being related to Bobby and Dorothy Reed. Now living in Richland, Washington, Ms Shafer said the report only confirmed what she knew after meeting Ms Qualls.

“After seeing Kay Rene, I went home and told my husband, ’I don’t know why she’s doing the DNA testing’,” she said. “I was shocked – she looked just like my sister’s twin.”

Pioneer Memorial Hospital offered to pay for counselling, but both women declined.

Now the two have become friends and celebrated their May 3 birthday together. Recently, Ms Qualls introduced Ms Shafer to her work colleagues, calling her “my swister”.

“I’m trying to move forward at look at the positive,” Shafer said. “You can’t look back. It just drives you crazy.”