Switched at Birth - Essay Example

Switched at Birth This is the story of two ladies, Martha Miller and Sue McDonald who were switched at birth. 43 years later, two letters from Sue’s biological mother; Martha’s legal guardian, change their lives. They get informed of the switch that happened accidentally at the hospital. The Miller family is big; with seven children, while the McDonald family comprises of only two. Kay McDonald said that at some point in life, she realized that her daughter Sue, was very different from other family members.

She was a quiet person who kept a lot to herself unlike the other family members but she saw no point in raising an issue because she loved her only daughter very much.Martha Miller was also very different from her siblings. Her lively personality stood out the most because the rest of the family comprised of very serious individuals.Both families have a Christian background and coincidentally had mutual friends. When Sue found out about the birth switch, she wanted to confirm it first because she knew that her mother was not a fan of the Miller family.

She therefore had to be absolutely sure. She goes on to add that her mother thinks of her as a fanatical person and that is the reason why she feared for the truth behind this revelation. Her worry was that her guardian mother would quickly develop an interest in Martha and cut off links with her. The revelation would also answer a lot of questions regarding her personality and mannerisms and the fact that her mother did not see eye to eye with the Millers, really scared her.When Sue goes to her birth parents a month after receiving the letter, she is welcomed warmly and even gets to have a look at the photo albums so that she can see the rest of the family.

There is a degree of awkwardness when she narrates about her upbringing and how her mother never had enough breast milk for her. When she broke the news to the McDonalds, they were shocked but were accepting of the situation and assured her that nothing was going to change and that they would always see her as their daughter.In the case of Martha, she was bitter because she felt that her parents never accepted her for who she really is. She is an athletic individual and was hurt by the fact that her parents failed to attend her sporting events to show their support.

What hurt her the most was when her mother told her that she had very low expectations of her because she was not her birth child. Her mother Mrs. Miller started referring to her as Martha McDonald, she had fully embraced Sue. Luckily for her, Mr. Miller saw things differently and accepted the situation as it was though he still referred to her as his daughter. The McDonalds kept her at arm’s length. She was not accorded the warm embrace that Sue received.From the information gathered, family may be regarded as the people who are accepting of each other regardless of biological relations.

In the case of Martha, she got side lined when the events unfolded and from a social view, had no family. Sue on the other hand received full acceptance from both parties.Works CitedMirror of Hong Kong. July, 2008. Podcast: Switched at Birth. Downloaded from: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/360/switched-at-birth