Mom takes DNA test and discovers the daughter she is raising is not biologically hers
When Paula Johnson gave birth to her fourth child, a baby girl, she was over the moon. She already had three boys and her newborn girl completed her family.
The single mom from Charlottesville, Virginia, named her bundle of joy born on June 29, 1995, Callie and celebrated having her first girl.
“It was an awesome feeling, you know? This is my daughter finally, after three boys. It was a great feeling,” she recalled.
But three years after having her daughter Paula and her partner had a disagreement which led to Paula filing for full custody of their daughter as well as child support.
Johnson’s partner then claimed that Callie wasn’t his daughter and so a paternity test was carried out – the results shocked everyone to the core.
Not only did the test show that Paula’s partner wasn’t the dad but that Paula wasn’t Callie’s mom.
Paula discovered there had been a life-changing mistake made by the hospital staff at the time she delivered her baby girl.
Paula discovered there had been a life-changing mistake made by the hospital staff at the time she delivered her baby girl.
On June 29, 1995, single mother Paula Johnson gave birth to baby girl she named Callie at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville.
The next day, in the same maternity ward, 18-year-old Kevin Chittum and his 16-year-old girlfriend Whitney celebrated the birth of their daughter Rebecca.
Rebecca and Callie were then mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong families.
The delicate situation turned devastating just hours before doctors planned to break the life-changing news to Kevin and Whitney. The couple, along with four relatives and friends, died when their car crashed on rain-slicked Interstate 81 in Botetourt County.
The couple passed away never knowing who their biological daughter was and Callie would never know her biological parents.
After Rogers and Chittum’s death, Paula tried to claim her biological daughter, Rebecca, suing for custody. However, the deceased couple’s parents fought back, which resulted in three years of family feuding.
Eventually, the court ruled that the girls would stay with the families that raised them. Paula also sued the University of Virginia Medical Center for $31 million and settled for $1.25 million.
The case led to maternity wards across the country reviewing their procedures to ensure nothing like this happened again.
Paula Johnson said she was angry when she found out about the baby switch. That anger persists to this day.
“I’m angry because I don’t have a relationship with my biological child. I’m angry at the hospital because the only thing I ever asked was them to apologize,” she said. “I’m angry that Kevin and Whitney aren’t here to see what a beautiful child she is and how much she’s grown.”
If Callie is angry, it is not obvious. She said Paula Johnson is the only mother she knows.
“She’s my best friend. She always has been. And I can honestly say that,” Callie said.
Callie said she would like to go to culinary school and then open her own bakery. She’d also like to write a tell-all book about her story.
Source:en.stories.newsner.com, wtvr.com
