Most people would say they know their friends well. A person gets to choose their friends based on similar personalities, common interests, or by participation in the same activities. But two high school friends found out that they didn’t know each other as well as they thought. Many years later, they found out they were siblings. This is what happened to Debbie Mueller and Randy Fox, as told in a local news article.
Debbie and Randy grew up in the same town, went to the same high school, and “hung out” with the same group of friends. They both knew they were adopted, but that was never a reason to think they might be siblings. After high school, they went their separate ways and lost contact.
Many years later Debbie, because she was able to obtain her original birth certificate, decided to search for information regarding her biological family. Because of the birth certificate, she now had her biological name and started searching online through sites such as Ancestry.com and an adoption registry provided by the state of Illinois. Through those sites, she found out that she had several biological siblings, one of those siblings being her high school friend, Randy.
Debbie was in shock and so was Randy when she called him. They reconnected and have been putting the pieces together. They have noticed they share many similarities, likes/dislikes, and are now hoping to find information which will lead to finding other biological siblings. Plans have been made to meet a biological cousin later this summer.
One of the reasons the two were able to find each other was due to the adoption registry. Randy felt that it was important to find more information about his medical history due to a heart attack and therefore wanted to find his biological family. Talk about a shocker when he found out more than he had bargained for!
Most people who are adopted wonder about their biological families at some point in their lives. What are their reasons and what are the most helpful ways for them when starting their search? According to this adoption article, there are many reasons. Some of these include answers to their questions about where they are from and why they were placed for adoption, medical history, and if they have siblings or any other extended biological family. The article also provides sources that may add helpful information.
Debbie and Randy have enjoyed reconnecting, meeting each other’s families, and learning about their biological family together. Debbie stated, “I just think it is a miracle; I just believe that God put us together.”
