Gin & Zin

Life after 23andMe

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This is Part Two of my journey. You can read part one here

 

Adjusting to a new reality

At the time I write this post, it has been three months since I received the results of a DNA test that confirmed my dad is not my biological father. A lot has taken place since then, and I continue to navigate unfamiliar situations and emotions every single day. Some days are filled with joy and blessings I never could have imagined; others are a struggle as I try to figure out how to reconcile my new reality with the past 33 years.

One thing I have come to believe is that the universe revealed my new truth to me at just the right moment, and in fact, has been preparing me for it for a long time. A few years after my dad died, an amazing women came into my life. She put her arms around me and has never let go. She taught me to trust again, and that it is possible to have family without blood to connect us. Because of her, I know what a healthy mother/daughter relationship feels like, and I wholeheartedly consider her my Mama now. She walked me down the aisle at my wedding and witnessed the birth of my daughter and son. My kids know her as Grandma and our family bond is deep, despite the fact that we don’t share DNA. I have also spent the last 10 years working with an amazing family whose children are all adopted. They are a normal, loving, rambunctious family, and the fact that the kids and parents aren’t biologically related has no effect on their love for each other.

I have known for a long time, deep down to my core, that genetics aren’t necessary to create beautiful family relationships. From the beginning of this crazy journey, I have never for a single second questioned the bond that I shared with my dad. I never doubted his love for me or my love for him – not once. He will always be my one and only. What has changed is my perspective, and the way I see my past and all I believed to be true. 23andMe revealed a HUGE secret that I’m sure no one ever expected to be uncovered. I have to adjust to living a different life – one with siblings, an unknown number of potential siblings, and a “donor dad” who is a stranger and yet makes up half of my DNA. I have a million questions, and my mind is constantly playing out different scenarios and possibilities. It gets exhausting. But the one thing I cling to in my world that has been turned upside down is that my love for my dad is unchangeable.

Even though my love for my dad can never be taken away, I do feel like the news has taken some precious moments from me. When I found out that I was having a son back in 2015, I couldn’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, I would see parts of my dad in him. I spent hours wondering if he would have his hands, his smile, his hair, his eyes, his dimpled chin, or his freckles. Something in me wanted to see a physical manifestation of my dad in my son – that genetic connection. When Jack was born, I searched his sweet face and was overwhelmed with joy to see a little dimple in his chin, one of my dad’s most prominent features. I cried out, “He has my dad’s chin!” and was on a high for weeks. I was so grateful to look at my son’s face and see a part of my dad. When I found out that my dad isn’t biologically mine, I felt robbed of that beautiful moment. I try to tell myself that I can still think fondly of my dad when I see his cute dimpled chin, but somehow it’s just not the same.

 

Trying to understand

One of the first questions that I had was to wonder why my parents used a donor, and why I didn’t find out about it until now. It didn’t take me long to come to the conclusion that, perhaps unlike other donor conceived kids, I was happy that I found out as an adult. To say it’s been a shock is an understatement, but I still know myself. By nature I am a person who needs answers. I obsess, I research, I ask a million questions. If I had known from a young age that I was conceived via donor, I would have always wondered about my biological father. Who is he, what does he look like, where can I find information on him, will I ever get to meet him, would he ever want to meet me? I am inundated by these thoughts now at 33, but as a child, I was blissfully ignorant. I wasn’t distracted by the idea of another father figure. My wonderful dad was the only father I knew. Since I only got him for a short 18 years, I am happy that the question of another biological father never entered my mind.

The days following my new reality were filled with many late nights trying to understand what it meant to be “donor conceived.” How did it work in the 1980s? Where was it done? What were the regulations? My research led me to websites where I was able to upload my DNA to try and match it with others in the database. I spent a lot of time on the Donor Sibling Registry, which I heard is a great place to find potential siblings and donors. At first, I was excited at the possibility. Maybe I would find other siblings. Maybe my donor was curious about children that were conceived from him. A thousand possibilities played out in my mind. But as I looked through all the profiles, some years and years old, reality hit me that searching could last a lifetime, and I may never get the answers I am looking for. I may have to accept that I will never know how many siblings are out there. I may never know who “he” is.

I learned more about the process of sperm donation in the 1970s and 80s from my brothers. Unlike today, parents didn’t select the donor based on a lengthy, in depth profile. Instead, the doctor selected the donor that most closely resembled the husband. The parents received VERY little information about the donor. It was meant to be as anonymous as possible. All that my brothers were able to tell me is that apparently our donor was tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, and that he was a Berkeley grad student. That’s it. So I am left to wonder. I pray that he was a good man – kind, smart, accepting and loving – someone like my brothers, I guess.

Because there are few records and because by law we can’t see them, our only hope of finding him is the small chance that he takes a DNA test like 23andMe, or one of his “natural” children takes one. And even then, who knows if he would even want to meet the children he created but did not raise?

By far, the scariest thing I’ve learned is there were very few regulations in place back then. There was no limit to how many times a man could donate sperm. I learned that it was common for men to donate on a weekly basis at ALL of the local clinics – for YEARS.  We’re talking about hundreds of potential donations. My brothers and I are 4 years apart, so based on that information, we know our donor was donating sperm from at least 1979 to 1983. I could very likely have a crazy amount of siblings out there. Can you imagine finding out that you might have 10, 20, 30 siblings – or more?

 

My brother, Loren

Loren is the first brother that I found out about – this whole journey started with him. We arranged to meet for lunch in Berkeley on a sunny afternoon. I was nervous and asked my husband before I left, “Do I look like a cool sister in this outfit?” The whole ride down, I was giddy and excited, blasting music and imaging what it would be like to meet my brother for the first time. As soon as I parked the car, the reality of what was about to happen hit me like a train. I was early, so that gave me enough time to walk around for a bit to calm my nerves. It didn’t really work. Instead, I grew more emotional with each passing minute. “I’m about to meet my brother,” I kept telling myself. As a former only child, the words seemed foreign to me. I felt like I was going to cry, or laugh, or pass out all at once.

I got a text that he had arrived, and I started walking to the restaurant, my eyes filling with tears. As I turned the corner, I saw him, and he saw me. Both of our faces lit up with nervous smiles. I saw my face mirrored in his, not just because we were experiencing similar emotions – but because we look like each other. We hugged. I never wanted to let go, but I also never wanted to stop looking at him, so I just kept hugging him with two second breaks to look up at his face. I immediately felt safe, at peace – I felt like I was home. Meeting Loren for the first time was beautiful, and I wish that it had been filmed, documentary style. It plays in my head in slow motion sometimes.

Me & Loren

The next three hours were filled with every topic you can imagine as we learned about each other. The conversation flowed easily, and I felt comfortable asking him even the hardest and most complicated questions. After weeks of emotional hurdles, finally something felt easy! Sitting in front of a sibling for the first time was incredible. I recognized my eyes, my smile, my adventurous spirit; I knew instinctively that we could have a lot of fun together.

Loren’s little girl took this photo and I just love it.

After lunch, I was lucky enough to meet his beautiful wife and kids. As I watched him shift into father and husband mode, it hit me – this was so much more than finding two brothers. I was gaining an entire family. Between my brothers, I now have five nieces, a nephew, and two wonderful sisters-in-law. My kids have six new cousins, two new uncles, two new aunts – this is so much bigger than just me. And it feels amazing.

My new Nephew and Niece!
Me with my Beautiful Sister-in-law, Erin and my cute niece and nephew!

 

More unexpected news

Meeting Loren made me crazy curious to meet my other brother, Tim. Through all of our emails, I could already tell that I had an equally strong, but different, connection with him. “This must be what’s it’s like having siblings,” I told myself. We connect in different ways and on different levels, but the love is the same.

My family and I had a pre-planned vacation to Southern California, close to where Tim and his family live. We immediately rearranged our plans so that we could finally meet. We left at 4:30 am, my children sleeping soundly in the backseat, but I was wide awake. All I could think about was meeting Tim. I tried to distract myself by checking the news and reviewing my email. I was surprised to see that I had a new email from one of the sites I used to upload my DNA. It said my profile was complete – and I had matches. I exhaled deeply. Was I ready for more results?

I logged in. At the top of  my list – again – was another half sibling. This time, a sister. I couldn’t believe it. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but every new piece to this puzzle has completely thrown me. For some reason, the news this time made me feel numb and quiet. I didn’t even tell my husband, who sat right next to me as we drove to Southern California, for several hours. I had to process the information. I wouldn’t just be meeting Tim for the first time – I would also be delivering the information that we have a sister.

My mind was spinning for so many reasons. What did this mean? Does she know that she is a donor kid, or will she be blindsided like I was? What if she’s not a donor kid? What if she is a “natural” child and our donor is her dad? In either scenario, what if she wants nothing to do with us? How should we approach her? One of us, or all three of us? There is no guidebook to finding out you were conceived via donor and then approaching your half siblings. At that moment, I wished more than anything there was. I wanted to do the right thing, but the right thing is different for everyone.

I realized that things were different this time. When I first connected with Loren and Tim, they already knew they were donor kids, and had found out about each other years before. They helped me to navigate the next steps. But neither Loren or Tim knew anything about this new sister. We were entering new territory, and I would be the one to deliver the news. I felt a lot of pressure and got a taste of what my brothers must have felt when they first found out about me. I just wanted to play my cards right. I feared that this news was turning her world upside down, just like it did for me. Would she feel excitement and joy? Or would she be shocked and terrified, and not want anything to do with us?

 

My Brother, Tim

We were staying at a rental on the beach for our vacation. Tim and I arranged for our entire families to meet. When the morning finally came, I paced outside the front of the house. Every time I heard a car approach, I got so excited! Many drove by, but finally, a car pulled into the driveway. My husband and kids heard it too, and they came rushing out of the front door. From then on, it was a whirlwind.

Tim came around the car, and I was there to greet him with a gigantic smile. I could have hugged him all day, but there were six kids exploding with excitement and ready to play. I was on the verge of happy tears, but I didn’t want to freak out the kids, so I tried to keep it together. Tim was calm and measured, and his wife was beautiful. Their four daughters and my two children were so excited to meet their new cousins. I watched with delight as they instantly connected. As complicated as everything was for me, to the kids it was as simple as could be.

Me & Tim

The next few hours were crazy as we did our best to parent our kids and also engage in conversation. I was much quieter than I usually am – I was overwhelmed. Amidst the chaos of six kids, I was able to witness Tim be the most amazing dad and husband. It seemed like he never missed a beat. I watched my husband interact with my new brother and sister-in-law, and it felt like such a gift. Our approach to parenting is so alike, and the respect and bond we share with our spouses is so easy to see. We all fit together effortlessly. It was hard to believe this was our first time meeting.

Tim, my sister-in-law Liz, my husband Colin and me.
As if they’ve always know each other.
Nothing but smiles!

Tim and his family planned to leave in the early afternoon, but he surprised me by asking if they could stay longer to have more time with us. I was overjoyed! I felt like I must have proven myself to be a cool sister and not some crazy person, because they didn’t need their early exit plan. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach, and I have so many beautiful, happy memories of that day. I remember watching our daughters walk hand in hand along the water line…my son Jack and his Uncle Tim dancing to Moana, the rest of the kids surrounding them and enjoying the dance party…connecting with Tim’s wife, Liz, whose joy was infectious as she expressed her excitement that Tim and I had found each other. I felt welcome and happy, and excited for the future. If this is what it’s like to be a sister – count me in.

Zoey and her new pals!
The youngest of the bunch.

 

To be continued…

In my next post, I will talk about my very first family reunion with both of my brothers, connecting with my sister,  and confronting my mother – again.

The outpouring of support, love, and kind words from all of you is more than I ever could have imagined. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It feels so good to be out in the open with my truth. I know this is a crazy and complicated story. If you have any questions, please send them my way via a comment or private message, and I will do my best to answer them all in a Q&A post.  

 

Meeting for the first time.

You can read part 3 here.

Thank you to Annika Campos for her collaboration in writing this post.

29 thoughts on “Life after 23andMe

  1. Thank you for sharing such a personal story. Good luck to you and your new found family. Your words are amazing and transfixing. You have a beautiful family.

  2. This is an amazing story. I’m so happy you found family, siblings. I hope your reunion with your sister is equally uplifting. My mom had something similar happen to her. She found out my grandfather was not her biological father and has not gotten anywhere trying to find a birth father. She was born in the 50’s so I suspect it will be very challenging. I love your story and cannot wait to watch your journey.

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words. Sending my best to your mom. It’s so hard not having answers and wondering who your biological father is. I hope she learns the truth someday!

  3. Hi Jaclyn, I am Debbie Kilbys mom, Ashley’s gramma and I wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying your blog. I hope someday it will be in hardback form. Thank you for sharing a portion of your life with us and I wish you and yor family the very best.

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words. I love you daughter and granddaughter! They have a special place in my heart. Thank you for reading!

  4. Love all of this love you are sharing! It is so beautiful and awe dropping. Enjoy the next part of your journey!

  5. You have a very profound and compelling story, and I am glad that you shared it so eloquently. I, myself, am a sperm donor. I became a sperm donor for altruistic as well as practical (financial) reasons with the consent of my fiancé. I come from a very healthy family and I am currently pursuing a doctorate in medical sciences. I also chose to remain anonymous so as not to invite future offspring to find me easily and disrupt the life of the family I will be having with my fiancé. Of course, I am in my late 20s and will probably not know anything for many years. Since you are one such donor offspring, I was wondering if you would let me know what kinds of things you would like to know from your biological father (if he were accessible), what kind of relationship (if any), or just advise you would like someone like me to have moving forward.

    I’m very happy things turned out well for you and your family!

    Thank you

  6. Such a lovely read. I am so happy that you connected with your newfound brother. I hope everything goes well with the half sister, and confronting your mother.

  7. I have also discovered I was a donor child, and found siblings, because of both 23andme and Ancestry.com. I love how you’ve captured so many of the emotions we experience in this ever so unusual situation. In my case, we’ve found 8 sibling so far, AND have found our donor, and all of it has brought so many emotions with it! I will say, though, that bonding with my siblings has been the most amazing experience of my life. I hope you enjoy the rest of your journey as much as I have enjoyed mine!!

    1. Courtney! I am so excited that you have had such success with your journey! And WOW, 8 siblings! Thank you for reaching out. It is a joy to touch others hearts with my story and learn about theirs. Hugs!

  8. Hello Jaclyn,
    My name is Thao and I’ve known Tim since he was still a teen. Liz and i are cousins on her father’s side. Thank you for sharing your stories with us. Reading your first two posts was like reading a story where I knew that there was going to be a happy ending and I couldn’t wait for the protagonist (you) to get there. I love my cousin dearly and I was so happy for her that Tim was the man she chose to spend the rest of her life with. He wears his heart on his sleeve and lives life with a moral and ethic that everyone should strive to achieve. He is by definition “a
    good man”. I’m proud to call him family. Congratulations on your new non-nuclear family!

    Peace and love to you and your’s
    Thao (your kinda cousin)

    1. Thank you so much Thao! I am so glad we both share love and gratefulness for Tim. I hope to meet you someday and thank you for reading my story. Big hus!

  9. I just read you lovely story. I am adopted and years ago my sister, who was also adopted at a very young age, found me ( before DNA). We were immediate best friends and have remained so throughout the years. The last few years I have been following the DNA paths to find out more about my biological family. I have tested with or uploaded to all the major sites and wonder if you have, too. (Ancestry.com, Family Tree DNA, My Heritage, Ged Match and 23 and me). Ancestry has the biggest data base and is where I have found the most close matches. You might have good luck there if you want to find out more about your paternal family. Good luck in your searching!

    1. Jody, thank you for reaching out! I am so happy that you found your sister. It’s such a gift to find siblings. We are waiting for the results from ancestry….maybe there will be a part 4 to my story! big hugs, Jaclyn

  10. Thank you for sharing your story. It is good to know that there are others out there.

    My story is this. Several years ago, my sister was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in situ. I bought her a 23 and me test so that we could look at her cancer risk alleles. I recently turned 49 and it occurred to me that maybe I should be genotyped myself. So- I did 23 and me and received my results on Wednesday. It was nothing interesting or shocking. I’m a white girl, I am a restless sleeper, I like salty food, have light hair, skin and eyes. I can spell asparagus in my pee. Utterly disappointing, as I felt I had learned nothing.

    That night, I was UBERing home from a dinner with colleagues and playing around with the website. I went under tools to DNA relatives, and in keeping with expectations, my sister was at the top of my list. However, she was not there as a sister, but as a half sister. Then I noticed that I had a first cousin whom I did not know. I was in complete shock.

    My sister and I knew that my mother had had affairs, and we also knew that I was the black sheep of the family. When I was four, my mother left us, writing a note to my dad saying “I want out….tell the girls I died or something.” She came back and kidnapped us a few weeks later, but she was deemed to be unfit, and so my sister and I were raised by my father. When I had my first son, my father (then retired), uprooted himself and my step-mother to move in with me and take care of the baby because I didn’t want a rotating door of caregivers. The man I believed to be my father invested not in one, but 2 generations of children in this family who do not share his DNA.

    20 years ago, my sister was married only to find that her husband had been cheating on her up until the day of the wedding. When this happened, she went to our dad and asked him about the circumstances of his marriage to our mom, who had always told us that Dad just kicked her out. He told my sister that she had cheated on him, but that he gave her a second chance. He named the person with whom I knew my mother had had an affair. The name matched that of the person listed as my first cousin on 23 and me.

    My biological father died several years ago. I have 2 half brothers. In terms of superficial qualities, I have nothing in common with these people. I am my (non-biological) father’s daughter. I am struggling with the weight of this and feel like nothing good can come of my bringing it into the open. I took my data sharing off of 23 and me because of the risk of my biological family seeing me and wondering who I am. Did my mother know? Did my dad and he just didn’t care? Raised me anyway. Did my biological father know? Did his wife know? Do my children, nannied by my dad and step-mom, need to know?

    I certainly had not expected this. It is quite startling and disorienting.

    1. Oh Christina! What a crazy story you have! I’m so glad you have the love and support from your father that you deserve. This kind of experience has so many layers to it. Layers that keep unfolding through life. Follow your gut and your heart. Thank you for reaching out and I wish you all the best!

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