Sisters meet for first time after more than 50 years
By Nathan Vickers
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Easter weekend has reconnected a woman to her biological family, relatives who had not seen her in decades.
At the KCI baggage claim on Friday, Melisa Hergert and her aunt, Deb Witig, anxiously awaited a 1:30 flight from Dallas.
They were picking up a woman who they had never met in person before. And yet, the three of them shared a deep connection.
“As a small child, I heard that I had a sister that was given up for adoption,” Hergert said. “But, I never expected that I’d ever meet her.”
Hergert’s mother had placed her older sister, Amy Leonard, for adoption more than 50 years ago. The two had never met.
But, last fall, Witig decided to start searching. She had always wondered what happened to Hergert’s sister. She said her sister, Laura Hergert, had been a young mother and was struggling.
“It was just this missing piece to our family puzzle,” Witig said.
It turned out that Leonard, who lives in Dallas, had also been curious about her birth mother. She took a DNA test and managed to connect with her biological relatives, including her sister. They organized a meetup this weekend on her spring break.
“I’ve always been curious,” Leonard said. “I thought this was the time to do it, if I’m going to do it. I started piecing together information and figured out I had siblings. I couldn’t not do it.”
Leonard, Witig and Hergert were in tears as they hugged inside the terminal for the first time. They’d planned to make lasagna together and visit local wineries. But, most importantly, they planned to get to know each other as family.
“It’s very overwhelming, exciting. There are no words for it. Just pure joy,” Leonard said.
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