Becoming a parent is a magical experience and the joy of bringing up a child is abounding. There is no denying that the challenges are many while headed on the path of parenthood and they are evidently more for a single parent. Lydia Fairchild, a single mom was struggling to raise her two kids in a comfortable environment when she found out that she was expecting a third baby. In her attempt to get some financial help, she found out she wasn’t the mother of her own kids and ended up with a court case that lasted 2 years. This was the start of a traumatic experience that seemed to last forever.
Parted But Connected
Lydia Fairchild and Jamie Townsend, a Washington couple was dealing with the complications of their relationship when a piece of news struck them. Lydia gave birth to their first baby when she was 21 and then, her second baby was born after one year when the couple had separated. Lydia had to take care of both the children alone and that was extremely exhausting. But she did not crumble under the pressure of parenting and made sure she gave her kids all that they deserved.
Third In The Picture
Lydia was having a tough time being a single mother to two when she discovered that she was pregnant again. She was expecting a third kid with her ex that she was not prepared for. The expecting mother had to calm herself down and lay down a plan to have control over the situation. She needed to have financial stability as bringing up three kids on her own would require a good amount in her account. She knew who to turn to during this tough time.
An Application For Help
Townsend didn’t live far off from Fairchild and his kids but he wasn’t involved with all the expenses and so, Lydia had to deal with all of it on her own. With another one on its way, this mom took the big step of applying for government aid. She had to submit a few documents of proof in addition to the main application form to be considered for child support. It sounded hassle-free at first but once Lydia was involved in the process, she had the most unpredictable news waiting for her combined with many troubles.
One Step At A Time
Lydia was desperate for this financial help from the government. She started by filling out a form to forward her request for government aid. The next thing was attaching documents proving that they are the parents of those kids. These proofs involved taking DNA tests and attaching the results along. The authorities need to make sure that the ones asking for financial aid are genuine and not indulging in any fraud. This mom and her ex agreed to do this convinced that it was harmless.
Swabs For A Test
Fairchild and Townsend took the DNA test and gave their samples along with the samples of their kids’ for further formalities. They were waiting for the documents to be approved before they could move towards the next phase of this procedure. They were anticipating a good response but life is all about its unpredictable nature and these parents were about to receive a reminder about this. Their results would take them on a different road that wasn’t visible to them yet.
Interrogating The ‘Mother’
The paternity test did not sound like a big deal to either of them when they submitted their samples but when the results came, they were unexpected. Jamie’s results were positive proving that he was the dad. On the other hand, Lydia’s results were not yet clearly informed. She was called for some interrogation by the Washington State Prosecutor revolving around her application. She recalled when the prosecutor told her, “[Jamie] is 99% the father. Well, there is a problem… there is no way you’re the mother.”
Definitely Not A Prank
Lydia Fairchild was just told that she is not the biological mother of her kids. This statement did not seem real to her and she laughed it off for a moment during the interrogation at the Department of Social Services. But the expressions on the man’s face told her that he was not joking. In the interview, she explained, “I could see the seriousness in their faces, I mean, they were just staring me down, like totally checking me out. And then they just start drilling [questions]…”
Going Back And Forth
When Lydia had entered the prosecutor’s office, she thought that this questioning was a part of the process. But when those words reached her ears about not being the mom of her kids, she couldn’t think straight. As the meeting went ahead, she was sensing everything wrong in the environment. “They just went back and forth, just drilling me,” she revealed. They asked her about her family and the kids, questioning her if the kids were her sister’s. She had no clue why she was asked all this strange stuff until she connected the dots.
Accused Of Committing Fraud
The questions by the agency officials pointed towards one thing. They were suspecting that Lydia had committed a fraud, so they accused her of welfare fraudulence, a criminal offense. They regarded her as guilty of defrauding the government for money. When they continued with the explanation, the truth behind these accusations was disclosed. The officials said that the information provided by her was falsified. According to the rules, the parent-child DNA matching should be 50%. However, Lydia’s test result showed a 0% match with her children.
Facing The Reactions
Soon the news reached everyone in her family. Her father said, “I believe my daughter, at the same time, I also believe the law had something against her.” Lydia was in a state of utter shock for a while and couldn’t eat for days. That moment was frightening but she had to come back to reality and face it in the bravest way possible. “I know these are my kids. I know I carried these kids. I know I gave birth to these kids. I was so confused, and I was scared.”
Testing And Re-Testing
Fairchild’s world came crashing down when they told her that she was not the mother of her kids. It was worse than a nightmare! She had to get rid of these allegations and prove herself right. She couldn’t let some “scientific errors” push her in a bad light. She got re-tested with new samples. This happened not once but thrice at the prosecutor’s office! They did every tiny thing that involves DNA matching. “They took pictures of myself and my children, and they took swabs from us all,” Lydia shared.
Same Old Results
Lydia felt bad to have her family experience such a tormenting situation. “We’ve done so many testings, it’s ridiculous. And having to put my kids through that over and over and over again…It was something that had to be done at the time. I had no choice,” Lydia expressed. Every test came back with the same disappointing result. While she was confident that she had carried them in her womb, the science was telling an entirely different “truth”. The officials finally called Jamie to know about the real mother of his kids.
When The Father Is Lying
When Townsend appeared at the prosecutor’s office for the inquiry, it went no different than Lydia’s. He faced similar imputations about being a fraud just to nab money from the government. It was just mind-boggling for him that he was being questioned about a thing that he never thought would require proof. “How could that be? I [witnessed] the kids [being] born. [The prosecutors] said, ‘You were there?’ I go, ‘Yeah, I was there’. They thought I was lying… running a big fraud,” he explained in the documentary.
A Professional Witness
After Townsend’s interrogation, things had taken a downward track as the authorities were not ready to believe them. That’s when Dr. Leonard Dreisbach, Lydia Fairchild’s obstetrician entered the picture. He was the one person who could testify for them if they are called for a court trial. He was taken aback by those allegations and wanted to help. Dreisbach revealed in the interview for the documentary, “I’ve been doing this long enough; I can recognize when someone is giving birth in front of you. And there’s not really much mistaking that.”
Digging Into The Medical Files
The next step was to head to the hospital where the kids were born and ask for their files that have their footprints, taken right after they are born. “The babies are foot printed at the time, and these cards are done right in the delivery room,” Dr. Leonard Dreisbach stated. When these files were presented as another proof at the prosecutor’s office, they did not consider it as a piece of valid evidence that would free them from the allegations.
Worst News In The Mail
While Lydia and her family hoped for the authorities to investigate the matter and make a decision in their favor, the reality was a tough one in this case. A few days later, Lydia found the most devastating news in her mail. She was asked to appear in the court where she could lose the custody of her kids. It was gut-wrenching for her to even think about it. This pregnant single mother had things going entirely against her but she had to endure it for her kids.
The Fear Of Losing
The court had summoned Lydia to tell the truth about her side of the story officially. The authorities were looking for the legal parents of the kids and they knew that a court trial would be an efficient way to do this. When Lydia was asked during the interview if she ever felt that she would lose her kids, she replied, “Yes, every day… every day I’d get up, get them ready, and take them to daycare. And every day it felt like this was gonna be the last day I see them.”
Trial Date Approaching
As the court date approached, Lydia had all fears creeping in from all sides. “I called every lawyer, local lawyer, in the phonebook. I could not get one lawyer to take it. It was me against the state, with DNA evidence,” she recalled the distressing days during the interview. According to Lydia, the prosecutor announced in the court, “We would like to put these children in separate guardianships.” She felt alone in this struggle and felt like nobody in the world was listening to her.
Some Legal Advice
All the negative energy surrounding her was draining her strength. Her family just felt helpless when they saw her fighting hard to prove her motherhood. Three court hearings later, Lydia finally had support. She found a lawyer, Alan Tindell who agreed to take on her case. He agreed after making her pass through a tough round of questioning during which she did not flinch for even a second. This convinced the lawyer that she was telling the truth. If she was right, then why were those DNA tests opposing her?
Claims Of Science
The DNA results and all the science associated with it had turned Lydia’s life into a living hell. She lost control of her emotions. Many claims were made in the court and everything just pointed towards science. Many medical suggestions were made but nothing convinced the judge in a positive way. Lydia’s mother intervened and shared her feelings on this case. She said, “Every [medical] suggestion was a dead-end.” She said it all came down to her daughter giving birth that would explain it all!
Another Court Order
Fairchild had to give proof for every tiny detail now. This paternity test was making her dig into the past for her medical records. But there was nothing hidden there. She never underwent any surgeries or blood transfusions. Her due date was near and she could go into labor any day now. She revealed that considering this, the judge ordered, “someone to be there, to witness my birth and to take blood from the baby and me, right then and there.” This was one way to find the truth and solve the puzzle.
Intruders In The Birthing Room
Lydia had to go through some legal procedures before welcoming her third baby. She had to sign a few documents that would allow the government to monitor her birth. The judge ordered the investigation team to be present there to take the baby’s blood samples. She couldn’t take a peaceful breath with all the stress surrounding her and felt like a “criminal”. The final results came back two weeks later and this time, the family was constantly praying for Lydia’s DNA to not match with the baby’s.
Baffling Results Come In
The times were tough for Lydia, and even Jamie, who was questioned a lot. He shared in the interview, “She’s a good mom… Why would they be in any danger? I felt like we were treated like we were just running this big, old scam.” All of them awaited the results and they finally arrived. The science stated that Lydia was not the mother of her newborn. It was baffling but this time, they had wished for these results. This was the beginning of deep research.
More Shocking Results
Despite being pushed down with all the news, Lydia was determined to prove herself right. After the previous test results, she had to undergo another type of DNA testing that involved hair, skin, and organ samples. Even these tests came back negative showing that she is not the mother of her newborn. How was that possible? After close investigation of her giving birth to the third kid, there seemed to be some glitch. That’s when her lawyer made a helpful suggestion.
Testing The Grandmother
“Fairchild was not only denied government assistance for her young children, she was now suspected of possibly acting as a paid surrogate mother and committing welfare fraud,” according to the news. Lydia’s mother couldn’t deal with all this anymore and decided to step in. She took the DNA test to prove that she was the kids’ grandmother. Fortunately, Carol’s DNA matched and she was surely the grandmother that showed that Lydia had a relation too. But the end was still far away.
Finding Answers In A Similar Case
Lydia’s lawyer came across a medical thesis describing a case that sounded very similar to Lydia’s. The woman, Karen Keegan from Boston had to undergo a kidney transplant and after her kids agreed to donate, they had to go through a normal process that would assure that they matched. When their results came back, they were shocked! Keegan’s DNA matched with only one of her three children. This put her through many rounds of interrogation and on further medical analysis, they discovered a missing link in her thyroid.
Medical Professional To The Rescue
The lawyer did his homework with the best of his abilities and read every line thoroughly of that rare case. Dr. Lynne Uhl, the pathologist and specialist doctor transfusion medicine in Boston handled Keegan’s medical records. “In her blood, she was one person, but in other tissues, she had evidence of being a fusion of two individuals,” Dr. Uhl of Beth Israel Hospital clarified. They had to engage in deeper research about it and Tindell contacted Dr. Uhl. A staggering revelation was on its way!
A Medical Mystery
Lydia was ready to drop after encountering the worst all these months of court trials and being portrayed as a criminal. But when her attorney stumbled upon a similar medical mystery, she was refilled with energy and was prepared for another test. This was a cervical screening test that would reveal any similarities between her and Keegan’s situation. They wished for science to switch sides now. If Tindell’s research was correct, they might have just tracked down the path to their win.
Holding A Rare Condition
Karen Keegan was diagnosed with Chimerism. Now, this is a very rare occurrence in a person. It means that their bodies have two sets of DNA. This happens during the first few weeks of pregnancy when the twin cells fail to separate leading to the absorption of the other in the womb. Either the woman absorbs some cells from her fetus or it’s the other way round. This is when the woman is said to be a chimera. The question was whether Lydia fell under this rare condition too?
30 Worldwide Cases
Lydia and her family were close to having proof in their hands that would reveal that Lydia is the biological mother of her three kids. But things could turn in a moment, so, they needed to be careful with every step they took. “It's a rare condition… with only 30 documented cases worldwide,” as reported by a news source. Since it was such an unusual condition, it was difficult to detect during the regular DNA testing.
Testing For Chimerism
Lydia had been under so much stress the past months that she was ready to take on any test if it meant that she’d be able to call her kids her own. The doctors were convinced that if Lydia had chimerism, her ovaries might have that “twin”. The testing began and they examined various cells in her body by taking samples. “A cheek swab may make it seems like they are one person, while cervical cells…could make it seem like they are someone else entirely,” according to a news website.
Never-Ending Struggles
Lydia was feeling like these tests had now become a part of her life. With all the complications arising every moment, it seemed far-fetched that she would to return to her normal life with her kids and family. The young mom was accused of the worst crimes including kidnapping and conning the government. Amidst the mess, the matching of her mom’s DNA to her kids was good news but she still had to undergo the tests for chimerism as they would hold significant weight in court.
Chimeric Examination
The emotional experience that Lydia was going through was once faced by Karen Keegan too. She didn’t doubt raising her kids but the world outside wasn’t accepting her claim when medical science was telling a different story. The challenges for Keegan ended when they discovered she suffered from chimerism. For Fairchild, this was a big deal after all that she had to endure. Her lawyer had been supportive throughout and he even made an appeal for the extension of her hearing to make sure that they can submit the results in court.
Finally Found A Link
Just before the final court hearing, Lydia Fairchild received the results that showed a link between Lydia and her kids. Her cervical cells had generated this link. One thing that was clear after the tests was that her twin DNA had accumulated in her womb leading to the DNA test matching with her kids turning back as negative. Genetics can be tricky and such cases are proof! Lydia had strong evidence in hand now but will the court approve of this?
The Last Hearing
Lydia hadn’t slept peacefully in 16 months with court trials piling on her with bad news. But all the suffering was forgotten with the last judgment given in the court. The judge dismissed the case declaring that Lydia Fairchild is the mother of her three kids genetically and in every way possible. “When he said that, my stomach just dropped… I just started balling in court. I felt relieved… I prayed every day. Every minute of the day, it felt like, I was praying,” she recalled the emotional moment in her documentary.
All’s Well That Ends Well
When Lydia applied for government aid, she never thought that she was signing up for months of struggle. On the brighter side, she was able to know a rare condition that lies within her. The strength reflected by this mother is unmatched and deserves appreciation. When the court announced Lydia Fairchild and Jamie Townsend as the parents of those three kids, everyone took a sigh of relief. She was granted the financial aid she applied for and it all ended on a happy note.
A Small Happy Family
Although Lydia had to take her own time to absorb all that’s different in the way her DNA works. She took it all positively. “I don’t think of myself as a freak, no… I don’t have different personalities, I’m a normal person. It’s just that something is wrong with the DNA.” The trial brought them closer and they made amends and tried to reignite the lost love After some time of being in a relationship, Lydia was happy to announce that she was expecting a fourth baby with Jamie.
The Twin Inside Me – A Documentary
After the huge discovery about Fairchild’s DNA being different from many, the doctors and experts started deeper research about chimerism and its occurrence. The story caught the attention of various media channels and they were keen on talking to Lydia. A British film company, Cicada Productions documented her story with an aim to make the world aware of the condition. The documentary is titled “The Twin Inside Me” and includes the interviews of Lydia Fairchild, her mother, and other family members.
Thanking Her Lawyer
Fairchild was able to find her way out of the mess only after her lawyer chanced upon the research report of Keegan’s case. “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,” she shared in the documentary. The experts explained in the documentary that it’s just “hard to know for certain what the frequency of this occurrence is, if you don’t come to attention, because of a medical need.”
Chimerism Changing Lives
According to a news source, “In human biology, a chimera is an organism with at least two genetically distinct types of cells -- or, in other words, someone meant to be a twin. But while in the mother's womb, two fertilized eggs fuse, becoming one fetus that carries two distinct genetic codes -- two separate strands of DNA.” Lydia Fairchild’s DNA results showed that she was a chimera and that changed her position in her court case. Her story proves that science has the power to change the course of our lives!
