It would be surprising as well as upsetting to learn that your children were not biologically yours after having carried them for nine months in your womb. But how can your child not be biologically yours if you were the one to give birth to them? Strangely, a mother in Washington State found herself at the center of this kind of intriguing story. Between almost going to jail and almost losing her children, here’s what Lydia Fairchild had to deal with.

It would be upsetting and perplexing to learn that your infants were not genetically yours as a mother who carried them in her womb

Lydia Fairchild, a resident of Washington State and a young mother, was really shocked when she received the genealogy results of her children in 2006. The results stated something she couldn’t bear to acknowledge, and it began steadily eroding her sense of self-awareness. According to the report, there was no genetic match between Lydia Fairchild and her children.

All she could say was- “I knew that I carried them, and I knew that I delivered them. There was no doubt in my mind.” 

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It all began when Fairchild applied for financial assistance from the state

It all began when Fairchild sought state financial aid from the state. Lydia was 26 at the time and had no job to support herself or her kids. Applying for financial assistance for children includes DNA testing to prove that the parent and children are biologically related.

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Among requirements, one was to prove the children were all hers, hence the DNA test

She had to show that the children were all hers, so they did a DNA test as part of the process. Initially, she thought that the social services’ request to meet with them was merely another bureaucratic formality. But, much to her surprise, she ended up being drawn into a criminal investigation.

Lydia said- “As I sat down, they came up and shut the door, and they just went back and just started drilling me with questions like, ‘Who are you?’” 

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She insisted the kids were hers, but the DNA evidence against her could not be disputed

Despite her insistence that the children belonged to her, the evidence was stacked against her. It seemed as if she was living in a real nightmare. As far as she was concerned, she knew the children were hers, but social services had the authority to take her children at any time.

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Lydia was sure she gave birth to them and even had their baby pictures

She knew they were born from her womb and even had photos of her children as babies in her arms. Dr Dreisbach, the obstetrician who was present at all of her pregnancies, was called at one point, so he vowed to testify for her in court. However, no lawyer was willing to take her case because additional DNA tests for the case had produced the same results.

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Ultimately a mother across the country provided some interesting information

It was at that point that a mother from another state chimed in with some intriguing details. Karen Keegan, a resident of Boston, was in desperate need of a kidney transplant. They had their DNA tested in the hopes that one of her sons would be a match. During a routine checkup, she learned a shocking and bizarre piece of information.

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Even doctors were baffled her children did match her DNA

The doctors who took Keegan’s tests were baffled by the fact that none of her children had her DNA. They then ran a series of tests and extracted DNA from all over her body. But a specific area of her body provided the key to solving this mystery.

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Only The DNA in her thyroid nodule matched her kids

Her kids’ DNA was found in her thyroid nodule. It was only evident in a part of her that nobody would have suspected. This case seemed very similar to Lydia Fairchild’s case, where there were no links of her children’s DNA in her body.

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It turned out a medical phenomenon called “chimerism”

In the medical world, this phenomenon is known as “chimerism.” There are situations when one of the fertilized eggs absorbs the other. In this case, there are two sets of genetic codes in a single egg in the resulting union of the fused eggs.

Attorney Tindell, who became Fairchild’s lawyer, was reading the New England Journal of Medicine when he came across the case. He then requested the court for more time so that they could have Fairchild do the same tests.

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Fairchild was ultimately proved as their biological mother

After doing all the tests, they established rather quickly that Fairchild was, in fact, their biological mother. It turns out the story was the same story for both Lydia Fairchild and Karen Keegan. “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,” Fairchild explained. So the mystery of Fairchild’s case may be solved, but the mystery of ‘chimerism’ still remains an unanswered question.

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