Oregon Public Broadcasting

An Eastern Oregon woman has discovered a very unexpected chapter of family history.

Kay Rene Qualls had heard her mother had a difficult time in 1953, when she was in labor at Heppner's Pioneer Memorial Hospital.

Fourteen years ago, she heard from her mother about a family secret.

Kay Rene Qualls  "She come and told me, she says, 'This lady in the hospital thought she had the wrong baby'. But my mom said, 'I looked in your eyes and I knew you were mine, and that's all I want to talk about it. That's the end of the subject. Don't bring it up anymore.' "

At the time, that was enough.  But this year, Qualls arranged for a DNA test to see if hers matched the siblings she grew up with.

It came back negative -- no blood relation. Qualls says it's like getting more relatives. The family she grew up with assured her she's still considered kin.

The families haven't been able to unravel the mystery of how the switch happened, 56 years ago this month.