Two women accidentally switched at birth grew up with each other’s families — a blood donation 35 years later revealed the truth
For people who don’t live with their biological parents, there is always a doubt, questions or confusion about who their birth parents are. While some have these answered well in advance, others remain with the mystery and a hope to unravel it. For Doris Grünwald and Jessica Baumgartner, it took them years before they realized they were not living with their biological parents, PEOPLE reported. A more shocking flow of events revealed that they had been accidentally switched at birth in 1990. Only when Doris went for a blood donation did she learned the truth and went out to answer all of her questions.
According to Kronen Zeitung, both women were born prematurely in 1990 in the Graz University hospital. A mix-up caused the mothers to take home each other’s baby without a clue. A report from the BBC noted that Doris was then raised by Evelin and Josef Grünwald, while Jessica was taken to the home of Herbert and Monika Derler. "It's not important to me when exactly the mix-up happened. I'm not angry with anyone, no nurse or anyone else,” Jessica said, adding that this never would have been done on purpose. In 2012, Doris happened to go for a blood donation where she, by chance, discovered the most life-altering truth — she was not her parents’ biological daughter, ORF stated.
It was a tough reality to deal with but at the time, there were no clear answers. She tried to hunt her birth family and the other switched-up child but didn’t succeed. Years passed and when Jessica got pregnant, the story surfaced all over again. The woman realized her blood type didn’t match that of her parents and a doctor then revealed that the babies were switched. Despite the emotional turmoil, they wanted answers and this time, the story was making its way ahead. Jessica contacted Doris and the duo decided to catch up. When they met, they had an “indescribable” feeling like they’d known each other for years. "We got along right away," Doris recalled.
The families met and the mothers were touched with a bittersweet feeling. "My first thought was Jessica will always be our child. And when I saw Doris, I thought she was such a sweetheart,” Monika said. Evelin, too, after accepting the truth, was able to count her blessings. "For me, my family has just got bigger and I finally have certainty,” she remarked. With Doris and Jessica being mothers and having families of their own, the mix-up will have to continue in a blended way.
The management at the hospital apologized for the life-changing mix-up. A lawyer recommended that the Grünwalds adopt Doris and seek compensation from the hospital. The Derlers also planned a similar response. Amid all the feelings, the confusion, the joy, the wonder, the women are glad to have found a heartwarming closure of a sort. "It's emotionally huge with beautiful sides to it but also a lot of pain,” Jessica remarked. “I'm just glad that the search is over now,” she added, highlighting that the support of well-wishers and loved ones has also helped them brave through it all.
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