Kimberly Mays Was Switched at Birth — however That Was Only the Beginning of Her Story

Jan. 17 2024, Published 5:48 p.m. ET

According to reports, it is virtually inconceivable to monitor how many small children are nearly or actually switched at birth. This is due to the truth that hospitals are not required to record those errors. What a terrifying idea. The simplest means we can definitively say a child has been switched at birth is that if the kid or anyone involved with them makes the discovery themselves. That is precisely what happened to Kimberly Mays, who was raised via a circle of relatives that wasn't her personal.

The incident happened in past due 1978 and would cross not noted till the opposite child, Arlena Twigg, died in 1987 from headaches related to open center surgical operation, reported ABC News. It was all through this time that docs realized Arlena's blood kind indicated the Twiggs were not her organic parents. Their daughter, Kimberly, was alive and neatly however they'd no idea who she was or the place she ended up. What happened to Kimberly Mays? This tale is the stuff of flicks.

What happened to Kimberly Mays? Being switched at birth was only the start.

On Nov. 29, 1978, Barbara Mays gave birth to her first and simplest child. She and her husband Bob were trying to have a toddler for years, however struggled to get pregnant. When it in the end happened, the couple was thrilled. Sadly their daughter, who they named Kimberly, was born with a severe middle condition which they would by no means have to maintain as a result of their daughter wasn't going house with them.

A few days in a while Dec. 2, Regina and Ernest Twigg had been in the same sanatorium because the Mays family. Regina would move on to give birth to her 7th child who they named Arlena. She mentioned Arlena was the "sweetest, sweetest little, precious little child that you ever, ever have known in your entire life." The Twiggs had to observe their daughter's physical job as a result of she was born with a congenital heart defect. In 1987, they made the tough decision to schedule open heart surgical treatment for Arlena.

It was at this time the Twiggs learned that in accordance with Arlena's blood type, she could not possibly be their organic daughter. When she kicked the bucket days later due to headaches, it was as if they misplaced their daughter a second time. "Even so, nothing would have ever changed our hearts [about her]," said Regina to The Washington Post in September 1988.

The Twiggs began looking for their lacking daughter and discovered that the one different white infant born at the medical institution when Arlena was born belonged to the Mays family. They positioned Kimberly thru a detective. She was being raised by way of her father after Barbara died of most cancers when Kimberly was just 2 years old. It was Bob who had to ruin the devastating news to his daughter.

Kimberly Mays in the end legally divorced herself from her biological parents.

Before she even found out she was not the organic daughter of Bob Mays, Kimberly's life was very chaotic. Her father married a girl through the identify of Cindy Tanner mere months after Barbara passed away. Until she was 6 years old, Kimberly believed Cindy was her precise mother. Bob and Cindy divorced in 1988, and by means of 1990, Bob was married to his third wife Darlene.

By the time she found out about being switched at birth, Kimberly was processing a lot. Bob didn't need Kimberly to get to know the Twiggs, however they have been quickly granted five visits in combination. After the 5th, Bob minimize them off so the Twiggs "went to court to get visitation, trying various legal stratagems," in line with ABC News. Once once more Kimberly was stuck in the middle, which is what contributed to her resolution to divorce her organic oldsters in the summer of 1993.

At the time, Kimberly was 14 years outdated and was granted the divorce which additionally denied the Twiggs visitation rights. While talking with ABC News in November 2019, Kimberly revealed she regretted divorcing her biological folks. A couple of months after the divorce, "Patsy Webb, a nurse’s aide from the hospital where the babies had been switched, came forward, claiming that Dr. Palmer [a family practitioner at the hospital] had told her to switch the ID bracelets," in step with the hole. Sadly, it was too past due to convey legal fees towards him.

In July 1991, the Twiggs settled a lawsuit towards the Florida hospital where Arlena and Kimberly had been born. They were awarded $3.Five million from the Florida Patient's Compensation Fund, reported the Tampa Bay Times. Separately from this, Kim won cash from the health center that she offered to an "annuity company in a structured settlement," in 1996. Kim would possibly not have get entry to to that till she turns 70. As of November 2019, Kim was married a 2nd time and has 5 youngsters of her personal. Her relationship with the Twiggs was strained.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXSramam6Ses7p6wqikaKhfrLWiwIyhmKmolaOypXnTqGSkoZ2XsrO42GakmrGj