00:01 JEN: It was crazy to find out that your childhood
idol is your sister, y'know disbelief because these things happen in the movies, this is
not real life y'know?
00:26 COMM: When Jen Bricker discovered her favourite
sports star was in fact her long lost sister, it was just one more remarkable event in an
extraordinary life.
00:35 COMM: The 27-year-old acrobat aerialist and
motivational speaker was born without legs due to what she describes as a non-hereditary
birth defect.
Given up for adoption at birth Jen grew up oblivious to the identity of her biological
family.
00:51 JEN: My parents told me form as early as I
can remember that I was adopted, that my ethnicity was Romanian.
00:59 COMM: From a young age Jen excelled at sports,
particularly gymnastics.
01:03 JEN: My earliest memories were watching gymnastics
on TV, probably six years old, maybe five or six, and I was just drawn to it.
01:13 COMM: And during the 1996 Olympic games in
Atlanta Jen was transfixed by Dominique Moceanu, who was wowing crowds with her talent.
01:21 JEN: I saw myself in her, she was small and
I was small, she had the features like I did, I knew she was Romanian, I knew I was Romanian.
she had that spunky little personality just like me so as a child I just related to her.
01:37 COMM: And later in life, Jen made a discovery
which was going to rock her world.
01:40 JEN: Right before I turned 16, I asked my
mom if there was anything she knew about my biological family that I didn't know, so she
goes and she gets this big folder full of just papers, I just vividly remember that
and um she says y'know you're never going to believe this but your biological last name
is Moceanu.
And I knew exactly when she said that it meant that my childhood idol was my sister.
02:08 COMM: After finally being reunited with her
long long sisters, Jen discovered that the similarity didn't end with gymnastics.
02:14 JEN: Hey!
02:16 JEN: When I first met my sisters it was surreal
but natural, we look alike, we sound alike our mannerisms are the same.
02:25 JEN: My gosh I love your house.
DOMINIQUE: Well I can give you a little tour.
JEN: Yeah!
02:28 JEN: When I met my younger sister Christina
especially it was like looking in the mirror.
02:32 COMM: Now Dominique, who lives with her own
family in Cleveland, Ohio, plays a big art in Jen's life.
And they regularly make time to catch up with one another.
02:41 JEN: I think she loves the fact that I am
a gymnast and an acrobat and an aerialist and I was in the same field, it adds to the
irony of this entire story that we've led these paralleled lives and it just shows how
strong our DNA is that we both, we all three did gymnastics really.
02:59 COMM: During her career Jen has pushed her
limits, touring as a performer and acrobat for the likes of Britney Spears but she's
trying something new and daunting.
Dancing.
03:10 COMM: Which she hopes will take her career
in a new direction.
03:15 COMM: Today she's rehearsing a routine with
dance partner Derrick.
03:22 JEN: We'll always talk about Jen overcoming
this and overcoming that, and I thought this is a true challenge.
This is truly something to overcome.
03:31 DERRICK: She's amazing, she's wonderful to
work with, she's - you look into her eyes and it's just bright light, bright energy,
it's been quite the awesome opportunity.
03:50 COMM: Despite being born with what some might
see as a disability, Jen and spent her life showing that nothing is impossible with the
right mindset.
03:59 HOLLY: I don't wanna use any of the cliche
words like inspirational motivational, but she is, she's crazy, I've never seen an attitude
like hers on another person, she only looks at the positive.
04:11 JEN: I'm just here trying to hold on, and
I'm trying to really use my gifts and talents to have a positive impact on others.