Mom Is Stunned To Spot An Identical Version Of Her Daughter In A Photo
Whenever 10-year-old Audrey Doering grew anxious, she had a certain way of pushing up her glasses. Jennifer Doering, Audrey's mother, noticed the move every time and found the little quirk endearing. She knew her daughter so well, right down to the way she laughed and cried; at least, she thought she knew her daughter. Then, a familiar figure in a forgotten photograph indicated she might have been more in the dark than she thought.
The Right Choice
Adoption is a massive decision for any family to make, but Jennifer Doering knew she made the right choice when she brought Audrey home from a Chinese orphanage. Together, they looked to the future — not the past.
A Happier Future
That's because Audrey didn't remember much of anything about her brief time in the orphanage. But that didn't matter. She knew living in Wausau, Wisconsin, with her new mom offered her a much happier life — not one without a few twists and turns, however.
A Special Christmas
In fact, during the Christmas season when she was 10 years old, Audrey didn't ask for a mountain of new toys and clothes. She didn't even want anything that could be wrapped. Instead, she wanted to know more about her original family.
Searching
Desperate to make her daughter's Christmas dream come true, Jennifer started digging. She reached out to the orphanage, hoping someone had information on Audrey's birth mother. Records could be so spotty.
Tracking Down Audrey's Ad
To her relief, Jennifer tracked down her daughter's "finding ad" (which had been initially placed in a Chinese newspaper). Upon discovering the paper work, something immediately sparked intense curiosity.
A Second Child?
Jennifer realized at the time she saw the ad a decade earlier, she didn't take much notice to the fact there was a second baby in the photo with Audrey's birth mother. Did her daughter have a twin this whole time?
Reaching Out To The Rainsberrys
After Jennifer and her husband did some digging, they learned the second little girl shared the same birthday and the same congenital heart condition. So, Jennifer reached out to the Rainsberrys, the family who adopted the other baby.
A Mind-blowing Realization
Nicole Rainsberry, the mother, was blown away by the sudden discovery that her daughter Gracie was one half of a pair of identical twins separated at birth! The two moms talked and decided it was time to finally bridge the 1,500-mile gap between them!
The Reunion At Last
This incredible realization caught the interest of the people at Good Morning America, who jumped at the chance to air the reunion between the two girls, live in the studio. The audience held their breath as Audrey and Gracie anxiously awaited their first meeting.
Together At Last!
As expected, it was an incredibly emotional experience for everyone involved. Both girls instantly embraced each other with tears of joy streaming down their faces. After a decade apart, Audrey and Gracie were together at last — but people had questions.
Chatting With The Host
Once the families sat down to chat with the host about the wild journey they were on, the sisters started uncovering a series of coincidences they just couldn't ignore.
So Many Similarities
Gracie's mom said, "It was amazing to me that math was both their favorite subject and despite both having heart conditions that they were amazing athletes." But, those were far from the only similarities.
"An Incredible Moment"
Even during the initial FaceTime meeting before the Good Morning America reunion, Audrey's mom said, "When both girls came up on the screen it was an incredible moment. Both had their hair in ponytails to one side, and were wearing the same pair of glasses."
Identical Mannerisms
"Even though we live in different parts of the country, they spoke in exactly the same way," Jennifer continued. "Their mannerisms were exactly the same and they even cried the same way." Questions about nature versus nurture soon arose.
Cut From The Same Cloth
According to the parents, both girls have a tendency to get nervous, and when that happens, they push their glasses up their noses the same way. They truly were cut from the same cloth.
Fate Swooped In
They even had similar food preferences, with each girl listing macaroni and cheese and chicken alfredo as their favorite meals. A decade apart was clearly nothing compared to what fate eventually had in store.
"Another Part Of Me"
Gracie said of Audrey, "I'm not sure how to explain it. Getting to have her is like having another part of me. Whenever we talk and get together, I just feel a connection."
An Unbreakable Bond
"I can talk to her about a lot of things and I know she will help me through it, and I feel I can do the same for her." The two girls' relationship only grew stronger when they started seeing each other at summer camp.
"She's Part Of Me"
Audrey shared the same touching sentiment about Gracie: "I just love being together with her." She continued, "When we're not together I miss her a lot. We speak or text every day. We have this connection, it's like she's part of me."
Only One Difference
"The only way we're different is I dress up more than Gracie," Audrey continued. "I like wearing girly clothes and she wears more sporty clothes." The smiles on the twin's faces here tell you they're more than okay being a little different.
A Unique Story
The girls now travel to see each other several times a year, and they look forward to growing closer every day. Audrey and Gracie have since joined a community of people adopted from China and have heard all sorts of incredible stories like their own. But Denise's story about why she was put up for adoption in the first place really struck a chord with them.
Abandonment
She was told her family left her behind at a hospital in South Korea because she was too sick to care for, but Denise let go of what could have been. That frustration and pain, coupled with the fact that she felt alone in Vermont, convinced her that she needed to find her own way.
Fitting In
Her adoptive parents were white, and they lived in an area where there were no other Asian people. It didn't necessarily mean that Denise was unloved or always treated differently, but it was an everyday challenge to fit in. As she grew into adulthood, she realized that following her heart and discovering her native roots was something she had to do.
Traveling Home
It was around the time she turned 40, in 2016, that Denise first traveled to South Korea, where she was born. She didn't know what she would find there, but she hoped it would come with closure. It turned out to be more eventful than she could have hoped.
Finding A Way
While in South Korea, Denise came across a government program that helped South Korean adoptees find their biological parents. All she had to do was send in a piece of her DNA, and hopefully, there would be a match. She wound up waiting for four years but found that the wait was worth it in the end.
Long Awaited Call
Once she returned to the stateside, she more or less forgot about the DNA test. Then, one day in early October of 2020, she received a phone call from the South Korean program — they'd found a match! The problem, however, was that she couldn't see them.
Distant Relatives
With the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, people had to stay socially distant — so international travel wasn't an option. When Denise heard about her biological family, she still couldn't help but feel overjoyed, and she proposed an alternative.
Family Meet
They would meet over Zoom that month. Denise waited with bated breath in front of her laptop for the Zoom video meeting to begin. She wasn't sure what to expect — what would her family be like? would they explain why they left her? — but she knew she'd have her answers. When the cameras began rolling, so did the tears.
Virtual Reunion
The screen turned on. Denise's mother, sister, and brother were virtually sitting right in front of her. Even with their face masks on, she could see the tears and emotions pouring out of them right away. They didn't look like people who would deliberately abandon a helpless baby.
Reveal
It turned out that they didn't. Denise's family shared the whole story, starting with Denise's birth name. Her older brother, twin sister, and omma — which is the Korean word for mom — called her Sang-Ae and explained how she'd gone missing for a little over four decades.
Last Market Trip
It happened back in 1976, when Denise and her twin sister, Sang-Hee, were only about 2 years old. On one warm June day, their grandmother took the twins out to the market, which was dreadfully busy at the time. There were so many people that their grandmother lost sight of both of them at once. She didn't waste any time trying to find them.
Missing
Their grandma looked high and low for both her granddaughters, and at last, she found Sang-Hee, but Sang-Ae — now Denise — was nowhere to be found. The family was broken up about the loss. Their father completely lost himself to alcoholism over the grief, but they never gave up hope in the end.
Overcoming Grief
While the father struggled to hold himself together, eventually dying of liver disease about 20 years later, the family kept themselves together as best as they could. They never left the neighborhood, never stopped making flyers to find Denise, and even came up with a clever plan in hopes that they'd cross paths with her again.
Family Business
The family set up a shop of their own in the very same market where Denise went missing as a toddler. They hoped she'd come back in search of her family, but there was no way that would happen right away, not with what Denise was led to believe, and where life had taken her.
Already Gone
The orphanage that took Denise in was unaware of what had happened. All they knew was that a baby was left in a hospital in bad condition. With no contact with the family, they allowed Denise to be adopted by the American couple that Denise would call mom and dad for the next 40 years.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
Denise also learned that after she visited South Korea and entered her DNA in the government program, her mother did the same a year later in 2017. It seems like it was meant to be, as thousands of South Korean adoptees may never find a match for one reason or another.
Crossing Over
All her life, Denise thought she was left behind, but there her family was, relieved to finally find her after so many decades of searching. She now knew that the only things that separated them were international borders, and none of them could wait to cross over.
Making Family Time
The reunited family made plans to see each other in person following the end of the pandemic. They even have their sights on vacation time together in Hawaii. As tragic as the story has been, they're just happy to be together again. Denise finally feels less alone, especially with a twin who's just like her.
Getting To Know You
Denise shares that "she and her twin sister don’t just look alike, but they also have the same voice, like the same colors and foods, love traveling and have the same sense of humor." As amazing as it was to meet with them, she was saddened by the absences of her grandmother and father. But the optimistic family looked at the loss in a happier light.
Feeling Love
"I know he was there in spirit because I think that he just made this happen and I think that my maternal grandmother who lost us that day... I know she was there as well. I could just tell", shared Denise. For her, finding them brings her a feeling of completeness, "To have that missing piece of what happened to me is just incredibly overwhelming and happy and it makes me feel whole.”
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