Trisha Thompson
Trisha Thompson is a typical 30-year-old woman. She lives just outside of Chicago, Illinois, and has a good job working for CTL Global. Trisha wasn’t born in the United States. She was born 6,500-miles away in South Korea. When she was born, her mother put her up for adoption. She was placed in foster care while she waited for a nice family to adopt her.
Randy and Paula Vandemark
Randy and Paula Vandemark had always wanted a child of their own, but couldn’t have children. They decided to adopt, and they heard about a baby in South Korea who needed a home. The couple quickly offered to adopt the baby, and on June 12, 1989, they brought their new baby, Trisha home. When the couple brought their new daughter home, she started living her American life. She grew up like any other child, surrounded by a loving family and lots of friends. When she got older, she was thankful for her family, but she couldn’t help but wonder where she came from. This curiosity is what made her decide to make a purchase.
23 And Me
Trisha decided to buy a 23 And Me DNA testing kit so that she could find her mother, an aunt, a grandparent, or a sibling. When the package arrived, she followed the directions, and she spits into the cup. She sealed it up and sent the test out. After taking the test, all that was left to do was wait for the results. The thought that she could find a blood relative had her very excited. She never expected to learn what she did.
The Results Are In
When Trisha got her results, she was very excited. The initial facts didn’t surprise her because she knew that she was adopted from South Korea. Although her DNA test told her a lot about her health and her heritage, she was more interested in finding out if she had any relatives out there in the world. She clicked on the section that showed DNA relatives that the company had in its database. When the page loaded, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
Ashley Enright
There was one suggestion that stood out to Trisha because they shared many genetic markers. This meant that the woman listed was her sister. The woman’s name is Ashley Enright. Trisha was shocked when he saw that Ashely was living in Lansing, Michigan. She couldn’t believe that she and her half-sister had grown up just 30 minutes away from one another. This really piqued Trisha’s interest, and she wanted to find her sister.
Trisha logged into her Facebook account to see if she could find Ashley. When she did, she went through her photos and her past statuses, and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. As soon as she set her eyes on the picture, she knew that this woman was her sister. She let the reality that she actually had a sister in the United States sink in; then she reached out to her sister.
The Message
Trisha sent Ashley a message that read, “Hi. My name is Trisha. I did the 23 and me thing and received my results last night. I found you through their DNA Relatives feature. When they compared out DNA, it seems we are likely biologically half-sisters. Based on your 23 and me bio, it seems like you were open to finding biological connections and I thought I would reach out.” After sending the message, there was nothing for Trisha to do but wait.
Contact
When Ashley received the message, she texted her biological half-sister. After texting for a while, they switched to Facetime. The sisters decided that they should meet face-to-face, and they agreed to bring along their birth certificates and their adoption papers.
The Proof
When the two women met, they compared their adoption papers. They realized that they shared the same mother, and even the same birthday, but Ashley was a few years older. Finally, they had the proof; they were sisters. Ashley told Trisha that she was adopted by Michael and Paulette Enright, and was brought to the United States on Father’s Day 1988. Both sets of foster parents used the same caseworker, but different adoption agencies, which led to the split.
Seoul Sisters
The woman became very close, very quickly. They called themselves, Seoul Sisters. After taking for a while, they realized that growing up; they went to the same mall. The girls could have walked by one another, not knowing that they were sisters. This woman learns staggering detail about her ‘neighbor’ that exposes a 30-year lie, and it brought her to her sister. Today, the sisters are like best friends. They say it is almost as if they had known each other their whole lives.
