Childhood is the period of life where one can ask anything and everything and nobody will get offended, isn't that great? Wish we would have known it back then and asked much more questions. Remember when we were kids and used to be curious about our family history? When questions like where did we come from, or who brought us into the world used to pop in our mind every now and then. Isn't that important? Mostly we lose interest in our family background when we realize it's not like it is always shown in the movies. What if you never get answers to some of your innocent questions??
The same thing happened with a lady whose curiosity about her past always remained the same and it finally led her to the unbelievable discovery. Patricia Lofton was living a confused life with so many questions running inside her brain. While searching for her answers, Patricia will find herself at the doors of a famous celebrity and that's where this story gets exceptionally surprising.
Patricia was inside her mother's womb when her mother was doubtful about her unborn child's future. Her mother was so occupied with all that was going on her life that she couldn't really even behave like a pregnant woman. Patricia wasn't going to be her first child and this meant that she had a lot going on to cover up. And getting the pregnancy news was a good thing but not a big thing for sure.
Patricia's mother was quite busy looking after her existing children. She knew it wasn't possible for her anyway to take responsibility for one more child, ie, Patricia. She wanted to keep the kids together but time wasn't in her favor. She didn't have her husband's support at that time which was enough to make things worse for her.
Patricia's mother didn't want to put her unborn child living in poverty just for her selfish reason. She wanted her babies future to be bright and full of happiness and opportunities unlike the rest of her kids. Mother's are indeed the most adequate example of selflessness and there are no limits to what extent a mother will sacrifice for her kids.
Her mother made up her mind before she was even born that she'll be putting up the baby for adoption. Yes, it was one of the most dilemmatic situations she had ever faced but she wanted to protect her baby no matter how much it breaks her heart. So, when Patricia was born, her mother knew that she'll be adopted by a good-to-do family.
What Patricia's mother didn't realize was the fact that putting the kid for adoption doesn't come with the surety that the kid's future will be safe and secure rather it leaves the kid all alone in the orphanage and live there till the time a family selects him/her to take home with them. Just like most of the kids, Patricia stayed in foster care until one day she got lucky. It was when she was about 7 years old that she was adopted.
Patricia was one of those unfortunate kids who never felt at home even after they are adopted. Patricia always had this struggle to get used to the new environment. She never really got that homely feel as she could see herself as an odd one out. It messed up her mind and her thoughts.
She knew her mother was somewhere out there in the world. But where? Why did she leave her? Did she really wanted to leave her? Or was there something that forced her biological mother to take that step? These questions always stayed in her mind but not for too long.
Patricia was never closely connected with her adoptive parents. But the thoughts of her birth parents and biological siblings always kept her awake throughout the nights. She didn't even know if she had any brothers or sisters and she deserved to know the truth. And history repeated itself...
Everything comes at some cost to us and before Patricia could get the slightest of an idea about her family, she had to deal with her heartwrenching challenges. Unaware of her mother's conflict, Patricia fell into a similar situation. Right after completing her schooling, when she must have been busy applying for several graduation colleges, Patricia got a bigger responsibility on her shoulders.
Patricia was pregnant when she was a young adult and the father wasn't supportive. As she already lived the rough life, she never even thought of giving up her baby. She wanted to do the right thing no matter what. In no possible ways, she was going to think of the adoption option for the unborn baby. At that time Patricia didn't know that giving birth to a child will bring her closer to her biological family. But what was about to happen next was much more than anyone's expectation.
It was quite clear that Patricia was going to become a wonderful mother. She named her daughter, Aquarius. She was so overjoyed and the tremendous feeling of being a mother lightened up the courage in her to look out for her family too. Not even in her wildest dreams, she had the idea that this discovery will shake her life forever.
Patricia Lofton was now 2o years old and was completely occupied with work, bringing up Aquarius and more. The hard working lady's life was all happy, curiosity never died though. Once she even picked up all the documents of her adoption and started the research. But her priorities didn't allow her to get to the point.
Little did she know that soon she'll be revealing the truth that will worldwide attention on her.
Patricia Lofton was pregnant again. It was when her daughter turned 6 that she gave birth to a baby boy and named him Andre. Her kids were always her priority as she understood how any disturbances in a kid's life can affect them throughout their lives. The lady started working for double shifts. She was determined to not repeat her parent's mistake.
Seeing her two kids grow and working hard enough to save for their future became Patricia's only purpose. For the next two decades, the lady completely forgot about her biological parents as she was looking after her biological kids became more important.
Two decades later when she finally started the search for her parents all over again she was so close to getting the biggest shock of her life.
Her complete years of the 20s and 30s went by bringing up her kids, Andre and Aquarius. But when her kids finally moved out and started their different lives, Patricia got the type of time she was looking for. This time she would not give up on the search and try until she finds answers to all her questions that have been with her throughout her life. Her first agenda was to find her mother.
Patricia Lofton didn't know her name but she got her address from the files. Without giving it a second thought, Patricia went to the address and knocked at the door. there she was, her mother. To her disappointment, she didn't even react to what Patricia has to say. Her mother neither denied nor agreed to anything that she said.
And as they say, where there's a will, there's a way. That day Patricia got to know the unusual truth about her biological family that the global media will soon be interested in too.
After her mother rejected her, disappointed Patricia went back home. It was then that the strangest thing ever on TV that grabbed her attention. On the TV it was a lady named Vernita Lee who was sharing the heartbreaking moments of her life, first, when her son, Jeffery died in 1989 and second, when her daughter, Pat died too. How was it all related to Patricia?
Although it sounded like just another story that gets aired this one had something uncanny about it. For some reason, all the three names, Pat, Vernita, and Jeffery and the dates that were mentioned were all giving Patricia this gut feeling that something was interrelated here.
Patricia ran upstairs and picked up the adoption file she got a hold on to. Her doubts were getting deeper and there it was, the date's on which Jeffrey died was the exact same of what was mentioned in Patricia's biological family records. The same thing happened when she looked for Pat’s information. But how could that be happening, anyway?
“The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I said, ‘No, that can’t be,’” recalled Patricia. Why was this lady talking about her kids on TV? It was because a member of her family was a world-famous personality whose name wasn't mentioned in the file and hence Patricia didn't know of her.
Patricia’s son, Andre, too understood that something was wrong. Andre made a note of all the details of the date and locations from the TV program. After getting her son's support Patricia tried to get in touch with Vernita Lee many times but nothing really seemed to be working out for her. She even asked her Pastor to contact Vernita's Pastor but again she didn't receive any response.
When Patricia was on the edge of losing all the hopes, her son showed her something strange. It was Patricia's sister! That was a loophole in the whole mysterious story. So, that's when the mother and the son started looking for this daughter and after a lot of efforts a name popped up...
After checking the past of this lady named Vernita Lee's they came up with the name Oprah Winfrey. According to the papers, Oprah was Vernita's daughter. So, was their possibility that Patricia was Oprah Winfrey's sister? Really? Now, that she was reaching closer to the mystery, Patricia made up her mind that she'll get to know what this was all about even if Vernita is willing to help her or not.
So, this time she came up with a modified idea.
All the information that Patricia had on her hands was that Oprah's niece owned a restaurant in Wisconsin. That was the only place from she could find out something about this family's past and all the confusion. But what was her next move???
Oprah Winfrey’s niece met Patricia and decided to take a look at the adoption documents. When she saw all the names and the dates, she understood that Patricia wasn't just making it all up. Oprah's niece was understanding her concern and therefore agreed that they should get a DNA test done to put bring this mystery to an end. So, what did the reports say? Was it the truth?
The reports were positive and this meant that "the great Oprah Winfrey" was related to her. This was a big news that gave her an ultimate peace. As she finally got a proof that someone was related to her. But this story was far from over as Oprah was yet to be informed about it.
The Winfrey family was slowly getting to know about Patricia but nobody told Oprah about it. Patricia also wanted that Oprah should get to know about her just found sister by someone she trusts like Vernita Lee. Patricia could have sold this news to media but she didn't.
Finally, Oprah Winfrey got to know about Patricia. She was in disbelief. She walked in the picture and started investigating. She decided to discuss this with her mother. Vernita Lee said that it was all a lie but how long can the truth stay hidden? So, the truth was about be revealed in an unknown way.
That day Oprah was getting ready for a talk show and her assistant arrived right before she was about to walk at the stage in front of the camera. Oprah's assistant was given the responsibility to investigate more about Patricia. When she arrived, Oprah stopped and looked at her with the questioning face. The truth was just a look away from her.
Oprah Winfrey’s assistant nodded which meant a yes. Years back Vernita Lee gave her up for adoption in 1963. Oprah was stunned to realize that her mother lied to her. After knowing the truth Oprah couldn't wait anymore. She rushed to see her long-lost sister.
At this time Patricia was finally going to meet Vernita Lee, her biological mother who was ready to meet her in person. Patricia wanted to know why did she never make any efforts to see her. She was going to finally be there and answer her questions.
It was on Thanksgiving that Patricia and Oprah both were invited by their mother at her place in Milwaukee. Patricia was so excited to meet her sister that she was at the venue before time. The moment Oprah saw Patricia, she said: “You look just like Pat!” Pat was her sister who passed away. The sisters were hugging each other. The two still had so much more to be clarified.
That Thanksgiving afternoon passed like seconds. They were trying to know each other and how life has been so far. “It was a Beloved moment,” Oprah, later on, remembered in an interview. Oprah was so proud of the fact that her sister made a whole lot of efforts to meet her. And then Oprah decided to bring her long-lost sister in front of the world.
After a few months of their first meeting, Oprah took the big step to tell the world about her new sister. She invited Patricia at "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and the sisters and Vernita Lee shared the whole story with the audience. This wasn't all, Oprah had more in the box for her sister.
Yes, Oprah is a big-time star but Patricia's motive was just to get reunited with her sister. She didn't want her fame, luxury or any privileges. Getting her sister and mother back was enough for her. No doubt that this pure soul won Oprah's heart.
“There have been few times I’ve been anywhere and I haven’t been sold out. There have been few times where you can bring anyone new into your life and not have that person in some way betray you or use you or take advantage of you,” said Oprah. She was overwhelmed with all this story. But why did her mother lied to her?
Vernita Lee kept Patricia a secret throughout her life. Nobody knew that she gave birth to her and then gave her for adoption. What made her keep it all a secret for so long? When the truth was revealed it just brought tears to everybody's eyes.
“I thought it was a terrible thing that I had done. I did think about the baby. I went back looking for her and they told me she had left,” Vernita, later on, said this to tell what she felt while giving Patricia for adoption. At the same time, she had something to tell her daughter.
In that interview, Vernita Lee told to the world something that touched Patricia. She called Patricia, “cute little girl.” To which Patricia told, “I am just trying to take it all in right now, because I never heard that I was a pretty baby,” These were the words she always wanted to hear from her mother.
"My sister Pat who discovered she was a part of our family 6 years ago, had 1 big dream when I met her. To go to college and finish strong! Today that dream came true. Congratulations lil Sis," told Oprah who got Patricia a beautiful half a million dollar residence.
Patricia also started studying at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. All thanks to her sister Oprah who still had one big surprise for Patricia. When Patricia finally graduated at the age of 53, her sister, Oprah was right there in the crowd cheering for her sister.