I Took a DNA Test for My Health. It Found Me a Family

MyHeritage user Lizzie Shaltz, 40, from Michigan, was adopted as a baby. After dealing with some health crises, she decided to take a DNA test because she wanted “no more surprises.” The surprise she didn’t anticipate was that she matched with a half-sister and found her biological siblings. Watch their beautiful reunion below:

Here is Lizzie’s story.

I was born in jail and placed for a closed adoption at 4 months of age. For most of my life, I knew nothing about my birth parents — only that my birth name was Christine and I had a half-brother named Jhonatan. For many years I tried to find more information, but had no idea how.

My adoptive father, a philosophy teacher, passed away suddenly when I was 16 years old. It was a major shock. Then, in 2012, I was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo a series of surgeries that damaged my back and my eyes, impairing my vision. Two years later, my condition deteriorated and I had to undergo surgery again.

For my 40th birthday, I decided to take a DNA test to learn more about my medical history. I didn’t want any more surprises.

The DNA Matches I received at first were not very interesting — just distant cousins. Eventually I decided to let it go. I would get notifications about new matches, but I didn’t even check them anymore.

Then, I got a message on Facebook from a woman named Ayla. She claimed that we were a close match on MyHeritage. So I logged in to check, and there it was — she was my half-sister!

Ayla Secord, Lizzie’s half-sister

It turned out that Ayla and I share the same father. His name was John, and he had raised Ayla, her two sisters, and their brother — who is only 8 days younger than me — on his own. Unfortunately, he was an alcoholic and passed away in 2008.

John Secord, Lizzie’s father

John’s sister Georgia — my aunt — lives only an hour and 20 minutes away from me by car. So this August, I went to meet her, two of my half-siblings, and many of my cousins for the first time.

I never even knew that I had an entire family out there. I took a DNA test for my health — and came out with a family.

In the past few years, I lost 2 good friends of mine to cancer as well as a man who was my mentor. I suffer from health problems and recently had cataract surgery. To find so many family members now means so much to me.

I’m so excited to start this new chapter of my life with them.