Lydia Fairchild, a mother of three, was already going through some rough days when she faced the worst day of her life when people started to raise questions on her motherhood. All she wanted was a little help from the government which was declined and on top of it, they started a criminal investigation on her. But for what reasons? Was attempting to secure her kids’ future her only fault? Or were things different on the inside?

 A mother not only gives birth to her children but also molds them to become a better version of themselves. Undoubtedly, a mother is the best thing that happens to each living creature in the world.

Lydia Fairchild, a mother of three, was already going through some rough days when she faced the worst day of her life when people started to raise questions on her motherhood. All she wanted was a little help from the government which was declined and on top of it, they started a criminal investigation on her. But for what reasons? Was attempting to secure her kids’ future her only fault? Or were things different on the inside?

Restructuring Life

In 2002, Lydia Fairchild, a 26-year-old native of Washington took the boldest step of her life when she decided to separate from her husband, Jamie Townsend. The couple had two kids and Lydia was pregnant with a third child. The couple had faced rough days many times but this time the situation was worse enough that Lydia filed for a divorce. Lydia took the responsibility of raising all three of her children by herself.

Once the couple was legally divorced, Lydia focussed entirely on making her kids’ future secure but it was going to be much harder than anyone could have thought.

Looking Out For Her Children

Previously, with the income of Lydia and Jamie, the family was able to live an ordinary life. However, the divorce left the three children and Lydia to live on just her income which wasn’t enough to survive. One of her friends explained the government supporting policies and assistance in cases such as hers. Without putting much thought into it, Lydia followed the process that her friend suggested.

Government Aid

In hope of getting financial assistance, Lydia filled the application form to receive assistance from the government to raise her two children and the third one that was on the way. In order to receive child support, Lydia and Jamie were supposed to undergo a DNA test. This will be a formal proof that they have applied for their own kid’s funding. It was just an ordinary process and nothing serious. At least that’s what Lydia thought.

After The DNA Test

Unless the DNA reports are out, Lydia won’t be able to get the application for funding approved. So, without any questions both Lydia and Jamie submitted samples to get their DNA reports. A week or so passed and Jamie received a letter stating that his DNA matched with his kids which were obvious, right? On the other hand, Lydia never received a letter.

A Long Wait

After a long wait, Lydia finally received a call, to show up for one additional test the lab would like to conduct. She was again asked to wait. Lydia was clueless about what was taking so long. The DNA reports were the only thing that was stopping her from getting financial assistance for her kids. Finally, in December of 2002, Lydia was called at the Washington state prosecutor’s office to discuss the results.

A Strange Meeting

As Lydia reached the prosecutor’s office, she was hoping it to be just another session with one of the government social workers. What she assumed to be a step closer to receiving the assistance turned out to be an interrogation. The person talking to her asked her questions like, who she was and what was she hiding from the authorities. Lydia was confused and couldn’t understand the reason behind this kind of behavior.

Being Interrogated

During the interrogation at the Department of Social Services, Lydia realized that these representatives assumed that her application wasn’t valid. The officials present in the room were suspecting her of fraud but Lydia couldn’t understand the reason behind it. They wanted to know the truth which Lydia herself wasn’t aware of.

Selfish Reasons

These officials tried to scare Lydia about the consequences of her selfish actions. The woman was confused and speechless in front of the back to back questions that were being pointed in her direction. So far, she wasn’t informed of the reason that forced the authorities to question Lydia’s identity.

Weird Science

The officials told Lydia about the DNA test and how the reports claimed while Jamie was the biological father of the kids, Lydia wasn’t their biological mother. Lydia stood there helpless with no answers to the questions. How could she not be their mother? Certainly, the reports had to be wrong but that wasn’t the case. 

None Belonged To Her

Furthermore, Lydia’s DNA report stated that she wasn’t the biological mother of both kids. She gave birth to them and she named them. Now there were these people who were claiming that all this was fake, on the basis of a DNA report? She suggested the investigators should check with the lab once again as there was certainly some sort of confusion. Yet the officials insisted that DNA reports don’t lie just like that.

A Nightmarish Scenario

She was facing the worst day of her life. While the officers wanted her to admit that she was not the mother of her own kids. Jamie whose DNA reports showed that he was the father of the two kids was also summoned for interrogation as he had kids with another woman. When everything was being concluded so quickly, Lydia tried to get help from the only source she could have relied on.

Professional Opinion

Lydia asked for help from her obstetrician, Dr. Leonard Dreisbach who was equally shocked as the couple. Leonard is a professional who was present while the birth of Lydia’s two kids. He was also ready to say the same thing in the court. Listening to his assurance, Lydia took a breath of relief and went to the next step, ie, hiring a lawyer. Sadly, even a lawyer and a witness were not going to prove of any help.

Searching To Be Believed

Alan Tindell was ready to take the case of Lydia. He too was unsure of the truth and tried to see if Lydia was saying the right thing or just cooking up a story to save herself. The case was unusual and Alan tried knowing if it was any of her siblings’ babies. But they were Lydia’s kids and she gave birth to them. Alan was certain that Lydia wasn’t lying but then what exactly was going on?

Falling Apart

Lydia Fairchild was stuck in problems from all the sides. She was pregnant, had two kids to look after, a court case to fight and a living to earn. She was appearing in the court every time they summoned her. It was becoming unbearable for her and that’s when she called her family for help. The only biggest question; how will she prove herself right?

Emotional Toll

Lydia was going through the worst and it was impacting her children adversely. No matter how much she tried to keep the kids out of all this, they somewhere or the other knew their mother was worried but about what they didn’t know. She started having nightmares were she loses the custody for her kids. As the new baby was on its way, more questions were about to raise with his birth.

An Unusual Birth

As the third child was born, the judge made a decision to take the blood samples of the just born and match it with Lydia’s DNA. During his birth, the room was packed with policemen, an investigating team and other doctors. The kid’s birth moments were less joyous and more stressful.

History Repeats Itself

This time also history repeated itself and the reports showed no relationship between Lydia and her son. Yes, there were witnesses but the evidence again wasn’t in Lydia’s favor. Everyone now knew that Lydia indeed was the genetic mom of the just born but the reports didn’t agree to it.

Even More Tests

Lydia underwent another bunch of tests. Along with the blood sample, doctors took tissue samples of her from her hair, skin, and organs. Yet again there was no connection established between her and her children. There were lots of allegation and Lydia felt every moment as if she was one step away from having a nervous breakdown.

Somehow Related

The researchers went deeper into the study and took a DNA sample from Lydia’s mother. The reports showed a link between Lydia’s kids and her mother. The researchers started to assume if the biological mother was any of Lydia’s sister. Again Lydia was struggling to justify herself in front of the judge, however, Lydia’s lawyer was busy in some other research.

A Medical Anomaly

Lydia’s lawyer found out about the 52-year-old, Karen Keegan who lived in Boston. It occurred several years back when Karen was in search of a kidney donor. Her DNA didn’t match with her first two kids but the third one. The doctors conducted several tests on different tissue samples collected from Karen’s body over a period of years and eventually discovered the rare situation that made it to the New England Journal of Medicine. What was it?

Forging Links

Karen Keegan’s case was somewhere or the other connected with Lydia’s case. Attorney Alan Tindell talked with Karen and headed back to Lydia with the possible reason behind all the extreme mess that has been created. Karen’s story gave Lydia the most needed ray of hope. Despite being exhausted by all the tests she agreed to get one last test: a cervical screening test. This was their last hope.

Bad Publicity

By this time this news made its way to media. And a woman accused of fraud against the Washington state government. The newspapers, as well as the TV broadcast channels, depicted her as a criminal. Everyone was now aware of the half solved case that was pointing all the fingers at Lydia.

How Many More Times

Lydia was hoping for the medical screening test to be her final test.  Well, nobody knew at that time the rarest of the rare condition of Lydia. Her name was going to be placed in the medical books due to this case.

The Missing Piece

The DNA test results that came on the basis of Lydia’s cervical screening finally showed the most awaited genetic link between her and all three of her children. Indeed, she wasn’t lying and now the world knew it. But why all the previous tests weren’t able to match with Lydia’s kids?

Exceptionally Rare

Both Lydia Fairchild and Karen Keegan had chimerism, a genetic syndrome. This is an extremely unusual condition in humans with less than 40 recorded cases in the world. In both the cases, Chimerism started during the gestation period in the womb just after conception, months before Lydia and Karen were born. Their body’s genetic material is provided by more than one genome. 

The Lost Twin

Much before a mother could even know about her baby’s sex or the fact that they are twins or triplets chimeras start as twins. However, one of the twins absorbs in the other and make an individual. The cells of the absorbed twin remain in the mother’s body neither a part of the absorbed twin is entirely able to merge with the surviving tins. This was the doctor’s explanation but was this enough to convince the court and the judge?

Hiding A Secret

In chimerism, the remaining cells stay in one area of the mother’s body. For Karen, a little nodule was found in her thyroid, that matched with her first two children. Karen’s thyroid’s DNA was completely different from other body parts. In Lydia’s case, the DNAs of her twin had gathered inside her womb. This was the reason why no reports matched with her kids’ reports.

Victory At Last

More than 16 months Lydia lived in emotional stress. The case was closed with the judge’s apology. Lydia was allowed federal assistance to support her three children. The best part was that Jamie and Lydia decided to give their marriage one more chance. Both Karen and Lydia’s case of Chimera isn’t that weird. It can get even more confusing.

The Mysteries Of Science

The term Chimerism is derived from a mythological Greek monster, Chimera. Chimera, a  combination of a lion, a goat, and a serpent, who was a symbol of ill fortune. For Lydia and Karen, chimerism didn’t affect their outer appearance but was only detectable by their genetic testing.

However, chimera formed by male and female twins can result in a hermaphrodite. When the twins are of the same-sex, Chimera can result in different color patches or different eye colors. For animals, this condition takes a long jump.

Unique Creations

Modern science still doesn’t have all the answers to chimerism. In 2017, A team of scientists was able to create a real-life chimera in the Salk Institute, San Jose, California. They altered the DNA of a just developed pig embryo, by eliminating one of its organs, and substituting it with human stem cells. As the fetus grew, a human organ grew inside it. Scientists have high hopes with this to be a breakthrough to grow human organs safely.