TWINSBURG, Ohio — A Northeast Ohio mother and grandmother got the surprise of a lifetime after she completed one of those family tree DNA test kits.
Not only was she able to retrace her family's ancestry, but her results revealed she actually has five new half-siblings, and she was conceived through a donor father.
The results uncovered things she never knew about herself or her background.
She's not upset.
She says it's an opportunity to finally meet these additional loved ones and connect about their upbringing.
Claudia Chapek told News 5 it's very possible she could actually have dozens more siblings living across the United States.
Solon High School graduate and Twinsburg mom of three Chapek is adjusting to her new normal.
She's embracing each day with her beloved Siberian Huskies.
Raised as an only child by two incredible parents her whole life here in Northeast Ohio, she just discovered through 23andMe--
she wasn't technically an only child after all.
"I had a very nice childhood. I was an only child, or so I thought... He said that there's six of us! Surprise!" Chapek said.
23andMe results revealed Chapek has two half-brothers and three half-sisters.
All of them were raised in Ohio and are around the same age as her.
The discovery came about after she received a message on the site from what turned out to be her half-brother now residing in Detroit.
The conversation that followed was even more shocking for her.
"My parents had a hard time having a child so now it was making sense. He told me that there were medical students that were donors and they had a fertility clinic and that couples who couldn't have children had procedures done," Chapek said.
Considered a taboo subject back in the late 1950s, Chapek's parents never told her she was a donor-conceived child.
She and all of her half-siblings never met their biological father who was a medical student and donated samples to a clinic several decades ago.
"It's certainly a surprise, but I'm so grateful to have this chance," Chapek said.
The process of researching her ancestry began innocently enough.
A couple of years ago her son was gifted a 23andMe set.
The results revealed he was 20% British and Irish.
It's something Chapek says no one in the family knew.
"He kept bugging me to do the test because he figured it was coming from my side so I finally did the test," Chapek said.
Chapek's results showed she was almost 40% British and Irish.
A list of DNA relatives she didn't recognize followed, turning out to be her half-siblings.
"I'm very excited. And actually, I saw my half-sisters in California over Easter," Chapek said.
The experience opened Chapek to a new world and helped her realize the power of technology and the broader definition of family.
"I'm only related to one person in this picture, but I think it also shows ya know family is family... Family is family. You got a bonus family," Chapek said.
Chapek says the process of retracing your ancestry can be a bit jarring or stressful for some people, but it's about what you make of the results.
For her—it's been incredible.
She's now communicating with her newfound siblings in a group chat and via Zoom.
Chapek's donor father is still alive and wishes to remain anonymous, so she and her half-siblings are respecting his wishes.
She says she did not see a strong resemblance in her half-sister.
However, she says her one son looks very, very similar to her donor father, and they are both in the same medical field.
