this american life switched at birth transcript

And if that weren't bad enough that lots of people in your town, people around you knew years before you did. And know you have mixed feelings about this revelation. When Sue got married, for instance, the Millers gave her a trivett Norbert had made the card was signed from your other possible parents. You're their kid, you're in their family. They knew Reverend Miller. Nobody would dance with me at the dances. And the other thing was that he really thought, what difference does it make? But Norbert should have gone back and said, this isn't our baby. People were definitely aware whenever both women were in the same room. It was good for us to laugh. If you are able, we strongly encourage you to listen to the audio, which includes emotion and emphasis that's not on the page. There's a lot of nervous laughter and there are some awkward moments, like when Sue talks to Mrs. Miller about the fact that she never got enough breast milk as a baby. And as that baby Sue grew up, the one thing that puzzled Kaye was that Mrs. Miller, whom she knew only vaguely from church, seemed so interested in Sue. I didn't get picked. When Marty showed up at the house for brunch the day after the wedding, she couldn't have seemed more at home with the family that she didn't meet until her 40s. So she said unless there's a real reason that you need to know that, I don't recommend that you dig into it. My brother and Marti are just thick as thieves, you know, it seems like. They decided that Ruth ought to have a look too. She was 98 years old. This is the daughter that actually was in you. When Marti showed up at the house for brunch the day after the wedding, she couldn't have seemed more at home with the family that she didn't meet until her 40s. A small thing, but it was a big thing to me. Marti calls Mrs. Miller once a week to check up on her, just like Sue does. And my mother's like, what happened to my life? Today on our show, we hear what happens when somebody takes your family and throws it up in the air like a deck of cards. Norbert and I had a good time while we were together. I I think it's not right to do that, you know. But it took a while for us to-- how are you going to think? She denied it. this american life switched at birth transcript. In fact, she seemed to have a tin ear for the whole thing. this american life switched at birth transcript. Mrs. Miller told people in the Evangelical Church that her suspicions, friends of hers and people she hoped would keep an eye out on Sue. It was like a dog door, just like here. Marti says she felt like everything she was interested in was lost on her parents. Because he told me, you know, well, I don't care what anybody says from as far as I'm concerned, you're not really Ruth's sister. That could be. We love you, Martha Jane-- I'm sorry. Again, here's Jake Halpern. The counselor asked her what McDonald's knew about all this, and I said, I don't think they know anything about it, so. On The Road; FAQ; Submissions; Store; Contact Us; Our Other Shows; Follow Us. Mrs. Miller gave her a noncommittal answer, saying that once upon a time, they thought that maybe, perhaps, it might have. And she said, oh, no, no. Being in the family I locked out, I lucked out. My name is Bob McDonald and I am 61 years old. What are you supposed to be with each other? She didn't fit in. They just didn't talk about these kinds of things. The five girls shared one bedroom. Things like that. So we all we never said anything about it. On a summer day in 1951, two baby girls were born in a hospital in small-town Wisconsin. Sue now had four new sisters and two new brothers, and the Millers show her pictures of her other relatives. The other problem for Marty was how to approach the McDonald's for biological parents. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. You're their kid. And part of it what makes this so strange is that this wasn't the sort of thing where Mrs. Miller figured this to her surprise after decades of wondering and pondering and painstaking detective work. My dad right there who looks happy. To keep the memory of those baby. Occasionally she'd break down and cry. She would push the dresser and the cedar chest against the door. We love you, Martha Jane, as dearly as our other six children. I couldn't do anything about it. more. She figured if she could simply get Kay to look at Marti, Kay would figure things out. This is my brother. He danced with my mother. That's what I'm talking about. Our staff for today's show includes Alex Blumberg, Sarah Koenig, Seth Lind, Lisa Pollak, Robin Semien, Alissa Shipp, Matt Tierney, Nancy Updike, and Diane Wu. If you're just tuning in, Jake Halpern is telling the story this hour of two girls switched at birth. I'm Ira Glass. She was just tired of secrets. She circled his name and she wrote, This is your uncle. So you fully appreciate the parents who raised you. I didn't get picked. And I'm sorry for her. The TV series "Switched at Birth" aired on the Freeform network from 2011 to 2017. So I did think, yeah, you know, she's she's going to know that's not my daughter and she's going to and she's going to get this popular, Marty, who's so fun loving and and looks like her. "I want you to know that I will accept whatever contact you choose to have with me, even if it's none at all. So you look like her, too? So a bunch of people from the evangelical church now knew Kay MacDonald was and who she was and realized that this was the girl Mrs Miller, believed to be her own. And both Marti and Sue worried that the families they'd always thought were theirs would still want to keep them. He finally did. It's from a mosquito bite. Well, sure, I guess, a little built of guilt, but it's not my fault. So she's excited about it. And of course, I thought that was foolish. Right before the service began, she says, there's Sue walking down the center aisle. She didn't have the Sociales that came so naturally to Bob and Marty. Ashin Sheen. Hi, everybody, it's IRA Glass, and for this American Life's 25th anniversary, we are putting eight favorite episodes from over the years into our regular podcast Feed. She thought she was going to die. Weeks went by and Sue began to fret. Sue dismissed it as part of the whole sister thing, but she also thought was kind of weird. Likely one of the most complicated and crazy switched at birth cases is that of Kimberly Mays and Arlena Twigg who, in 1978, went home from the hospital with the wrong parents. The Public Radio Exchange. The two moms and the two daughters who were affected more than anyone. Mark Twain. So I passed it off. Everyone had to work. So now we are both aware of what happened 43 years ago. The Millers didn't have much money and they might not have been able to afford the health care otherwise. So of course, we were elated when I did get pregnant. When we took our baby home, she sneezed five times in a row. I have much anguish and many tears. And like my dad said, you are my child. But that didn't seem so strange. The other mother, Kay McDonald, had no idea. And he just I think he honestly never thought it was a possibility. They lived a short drive from each other's houses in Wauzeka and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. And it is a much smaller family, just two kids. In fact, we weren't even sure we'd have another child. My brother and Marty are just like thick as thieves, you know, it seems like and whenever Marty comes to my home town, she stays with my brother and they stay up all hours of the night talking for to her brother's enthusiasm for Marty brought out every insecurity she suffered as a schoolgirl. So at this point, you're probably wondering why in the world didn't Mrs. Miller straighten this out quicker? She also had an older brother, Bob, named after their dad. And now she wanted everyone's role to be clear. I mean, that was right. And, you know, because I wonder what's going to happen when my parents are gone. And that's where it might have ended if it hadn't been for Mrs. Miller's letter a decade later. No, we didn't argue about that. And to you, Martha. The two little girls ended up in wrong families and only became aware of their biological parents 43 years later when Mrs. Miller decides to write a letter to them . You know, it was it was good for us to laugh. This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange. Marti considered whether she should go. I was sure then that there had been a mix-up. They had dogs and raised angora rabbits. She told me that she even started calling around trying to find someone who'd be a mother to her six children. They had dogs and raised angora rabbits. That wasn't something that they would have done, because athletics was really not of value to them at all. The other daughter in this baby, Squidge Sue, who was born to Mrs. Miller, the one writing the letter but raised by Kay McDonnell. And much later, when she was in her mid-30s, she decided to get to the bottom of it. Our services run deep and are backed by over ten years of experience. That's how Mrs. Miller kept track of Sue over the years. I said, am I adopted? But in the end, she made the trip because she's a Miller and so is Sue and she's a McDonald and so is Sue. You know, that's a big consideration because Mrs. Miller didn't want to cross her husband. That I had been switched and that I had different genes and my parents kept talking about these people that were so odd, the Millers, because they. She wanted to be a part of a big family. And then she's going to say, well, I don't need that daughter anymore. She looked exactly like him. And I said, heavens, no. Kay MacDonald in the Miller is eventually reached a kind of detente. I mean, I'd say, gee, guess what, Bob, I don't think your sister is yours. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. But even she never divulged the secret to Bob or any of the McDonald's. First Aired: 2/28/2017. Jake Halpern. She I did feel in the beginning like she was taking my place in my family, and that was odd, very odd, and sometimes I don't know exactly what her relationship is with my sisters. And I am 61 years old. Reporter Jake Halpern tells the story of Marti Miller and Sue McDonald, the daughters who were switched at birth, and the many complications that came with learning the truth. It was an odd strategy, if you can even call it that. And I was just horrified. I don't think that they ever came to watch me cheer in a game. Oh, really good for us. And so in this half of the story, we hear from the mothers. Is my brother going to care to even see me anymore? But they didn't notice any-- I don't know why they didn't notice it that Martha looked like them and was like them. How did you feel when he said this was God's will? The infants were accidentally switched, and went home with the wrong families. But there's no question things have gotten better between the two girls and their moms. So let's take them one by one, starting with Sue, Mrs. Miller's baby, who was raised by the McDonald's. She was a delight to all of us, so pretty, so photogenic, so full of life. She remembers Marti always lightening the mood in their house. Two teenage girls' lives are turned upside down when they find out they were switched at birth. She always referred to the girls as sisters. This is not my family. "Dear Sue, I'm writing you this short note to officially give you my welcome to this Miller family and relationship.". Hopefully, in the years the show has been on, it has influenced people to give the beautiful language a try. I guess you can understand. [1] NBC aired the production as a two-part miniseries over two consecutive nights on . By the time she was five or six, there wasn't much money around. This is Sue reading a letter she got some time ago from her new found Miller sister Faith, though there are many, many good things about our family and parents and being raised by that family. And then to think that I didn't get to raise the one that I had wanted so much. Marty shared a bed with her sister Faith and had to crawl through this vent to get to the bathroom at night because faith would block the doorway to the hall. Her house is filled with the remnants of her and Norbert's life together in the church. He wants people to know Jesus Christ and that they would be saved. She heard it first from her own mom, who heard it at church. It is one of the several identifiable characteristics of melodrama that are plot devices dealing with situations that are highly improbable in real life. Oh, that's a funny question, I. I really. And she circled my brother's name and said, this is your brother like Bob. At last, Mrs. Miller felt free to act. That was it was bad. I think little children take care of. And I took that as a, you know, OK, I'm saying as of right now, you're not our kid. Did you feel that then after this happened a little bit closer to your dad than your mom? The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Anyway, here's the story. Here's Marty. When I first talked to Mrs. Miller about what had happened when Mary was born, she told me pretty much the same story she told in her letter, how she knew as soon as she got home and weighed the baby that the nurses had made a mistake. The Millers are the bespectacled, dark haired ones from the letter. Do you have a second? In fact, my mother said, well, just don't tell anybody, you know. And Mrs. Miller said to me, did you ever think that our girls were switched at birth? The sickness, she said, lasted for six or seven months by the time she was, well, fixing the baby's, which problem was that much harder. I just couldn't do it. Occasionally, she'd break down and cry. What are you supposed to be with each other? She thought she was going to die. In fact, she seemed to have a tin ear for the whole thing. And I was super anxious to to meet her and in person. But I thought each of you should know your biological and spiritual backgrounds. Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. But, boy, it was really for me. Was there ever a time when you thought back and thought, I should have stood my ground more with him on that? That's all we can do. One thing Mrs. Miller doesn't regret is raising Marty. That could be my sister. This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Back in 1994, this is back in the days when people still delivered big news to each other by mail to women who barely knew each other, Martha Miller and Susan McDonald got a letter from Martha's mom. It's available wherever you get your podcasts and. Thanks especially to the McDonald and Miller families for letting us into their homes and telling their stories. I mean, what was your reaction? I would say that Sue and I were probably not that close for whatever reason. Well, of course, we felt indebted to him for doing that. That is why I wanted to write this letter. She didn't grow up with Sue, after all, and she's not actually related to her or to her kids. It was the four women at the center of all this. Mary Miller is 96 now. Mrs. Miller gave her a noncommittal answer, saying that once upon a time they thought that maybe, perhaps might have. Sue looks happy. That's just how she is. But that's all she said. Because it was terrible that hang over your head and. Very soon after mine, when we took our baby home, she sneezed five times in a row. And the Millers came. This episode, Switched at birth, is the episode they name. Our other children were very serious. Everybody's smiling. But he had everybody convinced, I think, that it was God's will, but I had talked to several of our former pastors who knew about the situation, and they assured me that this was not God's will. So a bunch of people from the Evangelical Church now knew who Kay McDonald was and who Sue was, and realized that this was the girl Mrs. Miller believed to be her own. She had both families wanting to make sure that she was included in their family. We'll keep her. S5 . Nothing seemed to miss to her. Download Share a clip Transcript Owen Freeman Prologue Reverend Miller. I don't think that they ever came to watch me cheer in a game. No, no, no. And then she's going to say, well, I don't need that daughter anymore. Sue is ours. And I took that as, OK, I'm saying as of right now, you're not our kid. And I thought I was losing both of them. I know you have mixed feelings about this revelation. You know, I didn't grow up like that at all. We're not mad simply because these two made such a stellar job portraying the main characters. I feel like I should have made a wrong into a right. And what was what was your your room like you in your own room to our room. what is jail like in ontario; kentucky probate laws no will; 12. Of course, the dead time for doing that. I didn't think it was right to do that. Yes I did. Thanks. Yeah. That's just how she is. And when you get this kind of news as an adult that your mom isn't really your mom or your daughter isn't really your daughter. When Switched at Birth premiered in 2011, it was the first TV series of its kind, introducing major characters who not only were deaf but were played by deaf actors, who spoke on the show using. Once things calmed down, Sue came to two conclusions. Sue now had four new sisters and two new brothers. You're in their family. On a summer day in 1951, two baby girls were born in a hospital in small-town Wisconsin. I only let myself think about it one time. And there were a lot of kids, two seven kids in all the McDonald's are the white haired ones in the letter. I did feel in the beginning like she was taking my place in my family. Because Mrs. Miller didn't want cross her husband, all she could do was hope that maybe if she dropped enough hints, calling the girls sisters and such, Kay would eventually realize on her own what had happened. The evening just ended up being kind of baffling for everyone involved, since only Mrs. Miller knew what was going on. One of them was Darlene Wolfgram. Just absolutely bizarre things like that. But your father, he's not a doctor. But it just brought up feelings that you feel crummy again. Archive; Recommended; How to Listen; . By the time she was well, fixing the baby switch problem was that much harder. You had your own room, didn't you, all to yourself? And when you get this kind of news as an adult, that your mom isn't really your mom or your daughter isn't really your daughter, and at the same time, you have a new mom or a new daughter, it is not so clear what you're supposed to do with this new parent or new child who's now in your life. In the episode, reporter Jake Halpern introduces us to a story of two baby girls who were accidentally . Here is how Mrs. Miller explained that in the letter. (6 1/2 minutes), If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these. And I he said, why wouldn't you have told me that? Are there times when you feel a little bit guilty about kind of having lucked out with the home that was maybe a little bit easier to grow up in? The Millers are the bespectacled, dark-haired ones from the letter. I really only thought about that one time. This is a videotape of that first meeting. The other woman reads, I had complete anaesthesia, so was asleep when our baby was born. During this time, it was Marti's dad, Reverend Miller, who reassured her. And he said, well, I wouldn't disgrace the doctor by telling him it gave the wrong baby. I had complete anesthesia, so was asleep when our baby was born. Mrs. Miller's husband, the Reverend Norbert Miller, was an evangelical preacher, devoted to the church. In fact, that's true. And I felt excluded. However, at. And, you know, I'm reading this thing going, What do you mean these are my this is my uncle. I was sure then that there had been a mix up. She was working for a group of pediatricians, which included a genetic counselor. Having the two of them so near each other was a little awkward. They knew Reverend Miller. Marty eventually decided that the only way she was going to resolve this was by getting on a plane and flying out to Wisconsin to meet the McDonald's face to face and give them a real chance to get to know her. mary steenburgen photographic memory. In fact, we were even weren't even sure we'd have another child, so of course, we were elated when I did get pregnant and and then to think that I didn't get to raise the one that I had wanted to so much and. That is the kind of news nobody ever wants to hear. Martha excelled in music, was a great cheerleader at school, very popular and a blonde, our other children had dark hair. She remembers washing and drying all the dishes by the time she was five or six. That could be her. It's gripping, a real 'page turner', and it's all true. And of course, I was very busy, because I was chairperson and I had so many other things to do. Hey, I was switched at birth with you. And so, of course, he was trying to get me to say that I had forgiven them and. One of the mothers realized the mistake but chose to keep quiet. That was a hard thing to hear. Between ourselves, Ruth and me, we, or at least I, always figured you lucked out. At one point toward the end of the party, as Sue stood nearby, Marty started talking about the room that she had grown up in. And I knew that she had to be my sister. Jun, 05, 2022 And he let Marti know that he still loved her. She looked exactly like him. My sister Faith called. And when Bob found out about Marti, found out that she was his biological sister, he called her right away in California. The older girls had sort of always known about the possibility that Marty wasn't their biological sister. I just couldn't believe it. They were easygoing, quick to laugh and joke around. TV-14 | 06.13.11 | 43:33 | CC more episodes 01:03:04 S5 E10 - Long Live Love Bay is finally recognized as a successful artist. And I wanted to be a cheerleader. I didn't even dance with you. And she said, you really need to consider how that's going to change your family for you and how it's going to change relationships for you. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. But overall, the Millers seem giddy that their daughter has finally come home and Sue seems eager to know them. What that meant was that after Chemical finally found out the truth in 1994, people started coming up to her in church, mostly casually mentioning that they'd known about it all along. If I had as strong a feeling as she did that I had the wrong baby, I would have pursued it. It's pretty rare that Marty and Sue actually meet face to face once every few years, they get together for a large family gathering a wedding, a graduation, a funeral. Like Sue, though, Marti stuck out in her family. And we think so much alike. (Paperback) by Janice Kay Johnson (Goodreads Author) So he didn't know what to do. He was an odd strategy, if you can even call it that. Switched at Birth. And yeah, I think it might be. My mom said, oh, well, you just take after great-grandpa this or aunt so-and-so. 43:33. Like Bob and Kay, she would circle their names and say, these are your parents. She tells me that you're my daughter. Unbelievable Intentional Swap. Besides her, there was Mary Lydia, Faith, Ruth, Sonny, Luke, and Esther. Rudy had a couple of beers, and after dinner, he got to talking and he started asking me what I knew about the McDonald's. And it is a much smaller family, just two kids. Kay and Marti both cried when Marti left the wedding for California. I I didn't want I would just like that thing because that would ruin our marriage, I would run it. The way she pronounced her words were identical with the way my mother talked. 10. Again, Martha Miller, who now goes by Marty, who once was the baby who sneezed five times in a row. I've forgiven them, but that doesn't mean that I've forgotten. The infants were accidentally switched, and went home with the wrong families. He, in fact would call me and tell me, I don't care what she says, you're still our kid and I'm glad we had you. I don't know why they didn't notice that. But boy, it was a relief for me. And all needed glasses for nearsightedness, Martha did not need glasses. And then there was the blondeness and the perkiness and the socializing. They nothing about it for 43 years. And every time I talked to him, he'd say, oh, it's all right, it'll be all right. For starters, Mrs. Miller didn't contact Marti and Sue at the same time. Why the big concern about disgracing the doctor over, you know, having the wrong baby? The Millers were at the McDonalds' anniversary party. They say they're not angry with her. I don't know how I would have survived. Kay McDonald is still tight with Sue, the daughter she raised, but she's also much closer with Marti. This summer, Bob McDonald's younger son got married in Prairie du Chien. Every day she was at the hospital, the nurses brought her the same baby girl. And until that time, we just talked all the time with every phone call that we made. Switched at Birth. For one thing, she explained just how sick she was after they'd gone home with Marti in 1951. And I said, Who told you to say that? In a pretty lighthearted household, she was nervous, studious, serious. I was surprised that nobody really ever told us, the Booms, the Tinors, the Langs, the Haisens. I had six little children to take care of. I don't think your sister's yours. You know, to run a big radio station was not always the dream job that he wanted. Our other children were very serious. In the show, one teen from a wealthy family discovers that. You're still our kid and I'm glad we had you. ( 1991-04-28) Switched at Birth is a 1991 American miniseries directed by Waris Hussein. Mr MacDonald's health didn't allow it. She's a very busy gal, and I was not having that much communication with her. Here's Bob McDonald who remember, was having these great phone calls with his newfound sister. And when I think of my mother, I think of her. Years later when she got the letter that told her the truth, she was stunned. She was working for a group of pediatricians, which included a genetic counselor. Neither Sue nor Marty blames Mrs. Miller for going along with her husband. It was actually right after I met them. And at any point during this time, does it cross your mind, well, why don't we just ask Mom and Dad about this? So then she found out she has all of these brothers and sisters. And until that time, we just talked all the time. And is the reason because Marty brought something important to your family, you cheated. And I wanted to be a cheerleader, you know, I didn't get picked. Finally, Sue handed over all the letters that she hadn't sent them in the past month, letters telling them how much she loved them and how much she wanted to stay their daughter. But that's pretty much where it ends. And she told somebody that I was crazy. Switched at Birth: Created by Lizzy Weiss. So I dropped the mix up baby pursuit as Martha grew. Mr. McDonald ran the TV repair shop in town. Kay is no longer angry the way she was, but she says she'll never understand why Mrs Miller stayed silent for all those years. The hour-long drama, about two teenage girls . She denied, she says, oh, no, no, that's not true. She said everybody at church, after having seen Marti beside the rest of the family, just couldn't believe that that was their child. ", So she's basically saying to you, you may have actually gotten a break here being in the family that--. And he said, why wouldn't you have told me that? That's how long it took her to sort out her feelings. So it's a birthday present. She didn't have the social ease that came so naturally to Bob and Marti. That's Ruth. I mean, that my kids are all so serious about their life. But at the same time, when she refers to Kay, she says, well, your mother is doing such and such or your mother said this. october 22, 1995 bay kennish was born this book will be all about her life Switched At Birth (Exactly like the TV Series) 25422 Switched at Birth: Two teenage girls discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Music help from Jessica Hopper. I would say that Sue and I were probably not that close for whatever reason. That's Martha reading. And I don't know that she was as excited about it as I was. On the positive side, Switched at Birth does like to include American Sign Language. This is my mom and dad. I tried out for cheerleading. I wanted him to agree with me. I guess you can't understand. It's before kindergarten, so it's OK. Yeah. And that was odd, very odd. The nurse weighed the baby and must have left her in the delivery room until after Kay's baby was born very soon after mine. Rudy had a couple of beers. Mary Miller is 96 now, she lives by herself in the country, her house is filled with the remnants of her and Norbert's life together in the church. And I said, would you have believed me? . Like one of my uncles on the birth side, Earl Gonzalez, she circled his name, and she wrote, this is your uncle. With every phone call that we made, we opened up more to each other. It's before kindergarten, so it's OK. That's what most people in town seem to feel, it wasn't their place to bring up such a thing, especially with no way to know if it was true for sure. And, you know, I mean, I understand you didn't raise her, but she is your blood, you know, biological daughter. This brings us to Marti, the other baby in this baby switch.

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