“I have had dreams of this, and I am glad she is here and we are together as we start this new journey.”
An emotional meeting, decades in the making, took place in suburban Oakbrook today.
Biological sisters separated by adoption, met each other for the very first time. NBC Chicago was invited to capture the moment on video.
Sandy Lucidi was given up for adoption by her biological mother when she was a baby. She was living in Virgina with no idea she had a younger sister.
“My heard is pounding,” Lucidi said. “I am excited, nervous. The anticipation leading up to today was wild. We have communicated and built a relationship. It happened immediately.”
At age 16, Renee Villari-Clous learned she had a sibling.
She would spend years trying to find her, even hiring a private investigator. But she had no luck.
“I feel overwhelmed. We did not do any Facetime or Zoom. We wanted it to be authentic and genuine, seeing each other for the first time,” Villari-Clous said.
Lucidi had shared her DNA on several genetic testing sites, including 23andMe.
The company recently announced it was beginning Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. She thought about deleting her DNA.
When she logged into her account a few weeks ago, there was a message from her first cousin.
“The message was ‘looks like we are first cousins, give me a call,’, Lucidi said. “That is when it started to become real and I thought something could be happening here.”
Several calls later, the connection was made
“Why was I given away? That does not matter. At this point, the fact is I have a sister,” Lucidi said.
The sisters will celebrate Easter Sunday for the first time with their entire family including their biological parents.
“I have had dreams of this, and I am glad she is here and we are together as we start this new journey,” Villari-Clous said.