CO-WORKERS DISCOVER THEY ARE SISTERS

Two orphaned sisters, separated as children in Korea 40 years ago, were reunited when they discovered each other working the same shift at the same hospital in Sarasota, Florida. Eun-Sook – now Meaghan Hughes – was taken by her mother from her alcoholic father as a three-year-old. Her older sister, Pok-nam Shin – now Holly Hoyle O’Brien – was left in the care of the father. When the father died, O’Brien ended up in an orphanage in Pusan. In 1978, aged 9, she was adopted by an American couple who gave a the new name and took her to be part of their family in Virginia. Her half-sister was also adopted by an American family in 1976, and she grew up in New York state. As adults, they moved to different American states. And then decades passed. Eventually they were both hired to work the same shift on the same floor at the same hospital, within three months of each other, in Sarasota. They became fast friends, and after discovering a number of startling coincidences in their histories, the friends decided to take a chance and have DNA testing done. The match was positive. “I’m like, this can’t be,” O’Brien said. “I was trembling, I was so excited. I was ecstatic.” Her half sister was just as surprised: “When I heard from Holly, my first reaction was like, ‘Oh my god.’ I was in shock, I was numb. I have a sister,” Hughes said.
* At what point did they both start talking like they were from southern California?
* I’m still trying to follow their family tree. I better make a diagram.
* I just have one thing to say: Is America a great country or what?
* This is where someone says “What are the odds?” and I like to say, “Well, obviously 100%!”
* This is like the opposite of Fight Club.
* Unfortunately the hospital they work at has strict rules about family members working together so one has been laid off.
* Depending on what you believe this was just a completely random coincidence or the women were clearly on the same frequency, and ESP is real. Your call.
* Or I suppose it could be a bad DNA test, but I won’t tell if you won’t.
* PHONE TOPIC: My Amazing Coincidence.