Diana Ward, 58, and Mary McLaughlin, 55, are half-sisters. They were born to the same mother but were separated as children due to the mother’s death from breast cancer. The girls were brought up in different families and for most of their lives did not know that they had each other. Although they spent all their childhood side by side, their houses were separated by only a few blocks.
So in theory, the sisters could see each other in childhood. Diana moved to the UK after she got married, and Mary moved to Arkansas, where she started her own family. Everything became clear when the older sister made herself a Christmas present and passed a DNA test that showed whether she had any relatives among those whose data is stored in a special database.
The procedure cost $50 and took several months. When the results came in, Diana found out that she had a second cousin, whom she later contacted online. Then a distant relative said that she had a half-sister. Diana found the contacts of the alleged sister, wrote to her, and later they phoned via video link.
Women began to call up every day. And later, Diana covered five thousand kilometers and flew to her sister in the USA. They were delighted with the first meeting.
They were breathless, the sisters described this moment as love at first sight. Mary immediately saw in Diana’s appearance the features of her mother and other relatives. The only thing the sisters regretted was that their mother would not be able to see this moment of reunion.
