all these years I've wondered who my
birth mother was and she lives 10
minutes away from me in the same city
amazing four months after 47 year-old
Patricia began searching for her birth
mother she stumbled upon a jaw-dropping
discovery I said no I said that can't be
this single mother from Milwaukee found
out her birth mother is my mother
Vernita Lee making Patricia my
half-sister who I never even knew
existed when Patricia first discovered
the connection in 2007 she tried three
times to reach Vernita but Vernita
wasn't ready yeah I was very hurt very
sad despite feeling rejected Patricia
kept it a secret fearing that it would
become a media frenzy
I remember just still worrying about my
older sister and just praying to God
that I think it's out I did not want her
hurt so for months no one in my family
told me any of this was going on I had
no idea that my mother had given up a
baby in 1963 I was 9 years old at the
time living with my father in Nashville
and didn't even know my mother was
pregnant I grew up for four and a half
years with two half-siblings Pat and
Jeffrey Jeffrey died in 1989 and Pat
died in 2003 so imagine my shock just a
few months ago in the BOK Tober really
right before Thanksgiving I found out
that I have another sister living just
90 minutes away in Milwaukee what's even
more unbelievable is that she has the
same name as my first sister who
passed away Patricia so you're with me
you follow in the story both sisters are
named Patricia so to keep them straight
we'll call the sister I just learned
about Patricia and my other sister who
passed away in 2003 we'll call her Pat
so let's get back to how all of this
happened at this point only Patricia and
her two children have figured out that
we are related and they figured this out
in 2007 and have been holding that
secret
Patricia isn't quite sure what to do
next but she sees this article about my
niece who is the daughter of my first
sister Pat in a magazine and tracks her
down at her Milwaukee area restaurant
okay this is port
as soon as I walked in I felt so odd
my niece Alicia owns a restaurant called
Pat's rib place named after her mother
and my sister Pat who died in 2003 there
are pictures of Pat all over the walls
and one in particular stood out I'm
looking at their picture and I'm like oh
my god that is me that is me it just
looks so much alike Patricia approaches
my niece Alicia to tell her she believes
that she's related to our family I said
I am your mother sister and she looked
at me like huh and I was at that time I
[Music]
think she believed me but she didn't
understand because she got very
emotional and as I'm looking at her I'm
like oh my gosh she looks like my mom
then Patricia shows Alicia the proof all
the documents that seem to contain our
family history I'm like wow this is like
really freaking me out here let me go
get my husband because I must be going
crazy or something right now I'm
thinking in my head that you know this
could be any crackpot out here just
claiming to just be related to over but
Alicia's husband Titus is shocked by how
much this Patricia resembles his
deceased mother in-law Pat he looked at
me and he said you look like my you look
like her and he lost it no he's not
it was the way she spoke it was the way
she moved her hands it was the
expressions that she made laugh it was
it was her laughter it was it was her
excitement her joy
and yeah I'm a marine and I couldn't
help it I just bust down crying just
something about her it just felt right
even though Alicia's instincts told her
this was true she wanted to be sure I
just had to prove it somehow so a week
later Patricia and Alicia take a DNA
test here are the actual results of that
test it says that there is an 85%
positive match and because they are nice
and aunt it means there's little doubt
that they are related therefore we are
all related so here's how I was told I
get an email from Alicia I get an email
from her sister Krishan de they say
there's something going on in the family
you need to know about calls go back and
forth they say your mother needs to tell
you I call my mother my mother tells me
nothing and finally my cousin Alice
calls and then Alicia calls again and
back and forth and back and forth and
finally I said to my assistant Libby
what is going on in this family what is
going on and Libby says do you want me
to tell you this is ten minutes before
I'm coming down to do a show I said yes
would you please tell me she says you
have a sister and I'm like what and so
that is how I find out I call my mother
and literally confront my mother with
this story is this true is this true and
she finally said well yes I think it's
true and on Thanksgiving Day Stedman and
I drove up to my mother's house in
Milwaukee to meet my new sister and her
family for the first time
here's that moment on family home video
[Music]
just like we spent the rest of the
afternoon getting to know each other and
hearing the whole story so after
Thanksgiving dinner Stedman and I got in
the car Stemmons driving were headed for
the interstate back to Chicago we didn't
say a word for miles and miles
finally he turned to me and said what
was that it was so uncanny to to to to
us and to everybody in this family how
much this Patricia looked like move like
talk like Pat it was a beloved moment if
you know what I mean
the daughter who comes back from the
dead in the movie beloved I didn't even
know that my mother gave up a baby for
adoption in 1963 I can't tell you how
many times I've done a story like this
on The Oprah Winfrey Show and seeing the
surprise on somebody else's face it's
not something I ever thought would
happen to me or our family needless to
say it's something you need to process
when it happens and I'm telling you
today because my family and I agreed
that we wanted to do it on our terms and
not have it become some big tabloid
spectacle with all of the facts getting
confused so I have told you as honestly
as I know how because I wanted you to
hear the truth from me my sister
Patricia is here come on out Patricia
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
Wow Wow Wow
now I tell you what is so remarkable to
me about you and your son and daughter
my new niece and nephew what is so
remarkable to me about this story it's
gonna make me cry so just be patient
since I have been a person known in the
public there have been few times that
I've been anywhere and not been sold out
there have been few times where you can
bring anybody new into your life and not
have that person in some way betray you
or use you or take advantage of you what
is so extraordinary about Patricia and
Andre and Aquarius is that they have
known this secret since 2007 she had
tried and tried and tried again even
wrote an email to our offices back in
2007 that we tracked but nobody would
have given me an email when somebody
saying I'm your sister had sent me an
email had gone to her pastor who
contacted my mother's pastor who then
sent a letter to my mother she tried and
tried and tried again to get responses
from my mother and other people in the
family she never once thought to go to
the press she never once thought to sell
the store never
so when I heard this about you when I
heard this about you
I said regardless of where I didn't know
if it was true or not true now we know
that it is true that you are my sister
when I heard this about you
I said regardless if it's true or not
true I had to meet you because I wanted
to meet somebody who had that kind of
character so thank you thank you so
during this whole process of trying and
trying and trying you know I've done
these stories where people try and then
they're turned down what made you not
give up one reason why I didn't give up
is because I know that I needed to get
it out and we get in touch with you so
that no one else would put it out there
and then another reason is for my
children mm-hmm but before you even knew
that we shared the same mother cuz that
moment I just think that's a god moment
that we told him the story but let me
just reiterate it to you so she's now
been turned down for the second time
she'd written a letter to the Department
of Family Services and they contacted my
mother my mother said no she didn't
wasn't interested and she waited a year
contacted them again was rejected the
second time and as she's rejected the
second time in that moment there's a
story on the news about my mother and
she is in front of the television and
sees that story so when you first
realized that oh my goodness we could
share the same mother what were you
thinking the first thing is my doing you
know talk to my daughter and I told her
to come and watch what I just watched
and she says mama you know we can't tell
anybody and I said I know that because
we had to make sure you know we have to
make sure first of all and then you
can't just go out there and put that out
there you know that would hurt someone
mm-hmm I was so moved on the tape where
you said you were worried that you might
might hurt me how did you think you were
to hurt me oh my goodness that if that
got out and it's not fair number one
because it's family business mhm
if family business needs to be handled
by family well it is now out there yeah
and it was handled by family yeah it
shouldn't be handled by anyone else
that's not fair it wouldn't be fair to
you do you feel now that you have
connected with your family do you feel a
sense of wholeness and a sense of
complete oh yes we do
yeah even though our mother's reaction
was at what you you thought it would be
that's okay because I have my nieces I
have my nephews and great nieces and
have you thank you hi youtubers I'm
excited to give you an update about our
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