Rising up, Kevin McMahon usually heard playful jokes from his siblings about being “the mailman’s kid,” as a result of didn’t look very like them.
The 64-year-old Lengthy Island man was the third of 4 kids, however he all the time felt like one thing was off. It wasn’t till a stunning discovery that the true motive behind his emotions turned clear.
After his niece took an over-the-counter DNA take a look at, McMahon realized that he wasn’t truly associated to his household in any respect.
It was his sister Carol Vignola who first realized concerning the DNA take a look at outcomes and did some analysis earlier than chatting with him. She discovered beginning data at Jamaica Hospital the place McMahon was born which revealed one thing stunning: one other child boy with the final identify McMahon was born on the identical day, inside hours of Kevin. His identify was Ross, and Carol’s DNA outcome stated Ross was a direct relative.
“Two Caucasian mothers with the same last name, both giving birth to baby boys on the same day. They were switched before the birth certificates were even signed,” defined Jeremy Schiowitz, McMahon’s lawyer.
The error went undetected for many years, with nobody realizing the error till the DNA take a look at uncovered it.
“There’s no mystery as to what happened,” Schiowitz continued. “Jamaica Hospital switched the babies. The DNA proves it. The mystery is, how did they let this happen?”
In response to the invention, McMahon filed a civil lawsuit in opposition to Jamaica Hospital. The hospital declined to touch upon the case.
As a toddler, McMahon confronted difficulties in his adolescence. His mom, an alcoholic, struggled with offering constant take care of her kids. His three siblings had been usually cared for by their paternal grandmother, whereas McMahon was despatched to reside with a household good friend. He usually felt the sting of being handled in a different way by his grandmother, which he now believes could have been a results of the mix-up.
“I was treated differently by my grandmother,” McMahon recalled. “She didn’t like me, and in time, I took that to mean I wasn’t likable.”
Whereas McMahon loves his siblings dearly, he can’t assist however marvel how his life may need been completely different had he grown up along with his beginning dad and mom, each of whom handed away years earlier than he found the reality.
“I feel I could have shared so much with my birth parents, and I didn’t get to do that,” McMahon shared. “It certainly would have changed the whole course of my life.”
McMahon, of Selden, not too long ago was capable of meet his blood household. He linked with Ross, the boy he was switched with at beginning, and Keith, the youthful brother he by no means had the possibility to develop up with. McMahon’s sister Carol additionally met Ross, the brother she is now attending to know. The 2 households, introduced collectively by a tragic mistake, at the moment are studying to deal with the ache that was inflicted upon them many years in the past.
“They are completely responsible,” McMahon said. “They made one calamitous mistake, they usually completely modified the course of my life.”
Because the authorized battle continues, McMahon and his newfound household attempt to make sense of a narrative that, till not too long ago, appeared unimaginable. For now, they’re left to rebuild what was misplaced — and what can by no means get replaced.
NBC New York reached out to Ross McMahon for remark, however he didn’t instantly return calls.
