Switched at Birth

I caught this on LMN the other night. I followed this story for a long time and it seemed to grow worse and worse with time. I have heard that Kimberly Mays has had a hard time and really, if I had gone through what she did, I would not be much better off. She loses her mom at 2, loses a stepmom at 5 or 6 and finds out that she had a "first mommy", finds out that she is not the biological child of the man who raised her since birth when she is 10 and was caught in this custody battle for years. I can understand why Bob Mays reacted as he did. Also, can understand the Twiggs and their need to know Kimberly. Plus, what Arlena had to go through in her short life. Kimberly, Arlena, Bob Mays, the Twiggs......there is no bad guy; they were all victimized in a situation that had not come to light since the days of Solomon. I hope Kim will be able to find some security and happiness despite what she has been through. The movie was also good and everyone did well. Kudos to all! Well done!

I do not recall seeing the movie but I have met Kim personally and stumbled upon this story by accident. I love to Google people to see what I find and well I found this. Let me tell everyone she is doing great and because of her past I feel she has to be the strongest most beautiful woman I may have ever met. Kim is a wonderful mother to her daughters and yes she may have messed up in her past but darn I did too and I am sure you did. God forbid there would had been a camera following us. I have not met a women yet that was not molested or rape and it did not lead to fast behavior in some way at one point in their life but the bigger picture is that she is working to overcome her past and build a bright future.

'Switched at Birth' is a two-part series based on the case of Kimberly Mays and Arlena Twigg who were accidentally switched shortly after their births in 1978. Both the Mays and Twigg families carry on unaware of this until Arlena falls ill with cardiac problems and blood tests reveal she cannot be the biological child of her parents Ernest and Regina Twigg. When Arlena succumbs to her condition at the age of nine, the Twiggs' then embark on a search to find their real daughter leading them to Kimberly who is living with her widower father Bob. As the custody battle begins, Kimberly finds herself caught between two families and Bob faces the possibility of losing the child he loves and cherishes as his own.

The adult leads all portrayed their roles well, fleshing out their characters, with Ariana Richards (better known as Lex in 'Jurassic Park') giving a touching performance as the bewildered and vulnerable Kimberly. She had a nice father/daughter rapport with Brian Kerwin, only enhancing the idea of how the young Kimberly never knew anyone other than Bob as her father.

In many ways, this is a very tragic film about how the selfishness of the Twigg family eventually shattered two families and ripped a young girl's life apart. Motivated only by their own needs to know their biological daughter to replace the child they had just lost, they paid no heed to the fact Kimberly was just a little girl who wasn't ready to deal with the emotional ramifications of the truth around her birth. Instead, they barged into her life, forcing Bob Mays into endless court battles as they pursued full custody of Kimberly and creating a media frenzy around the story.

Unlike the fictional film 'The Face on the Milk Carton', where the biological family let go when they see the trauma they are putting their child through, 'Switched at Birth' shows the results of what happens when selfish parents put a confused young girl through a custody battle. It does leave the audience considering how things could have gone much smoother if the Twiggs had only sought visitation rights or stayed away until Kimberly was older and more able to deal with things. It also leaves one wondering if Bob would have been so wrong to have ran off with his daughter until she was eighteen. Having read how Kimberly is now leading a destitute, unstable life, barely able to keep a roof over her head and maintain a job, this film goes a long way to explaining the contributing factors to her life as an adult today.

This was a great movie. The actors that played the Twiggs parents I am fans of them both, good performances by all the cast. I have 2 kids myself. If I found out at a later date, that my son or daughter was not my own, and someone else had them (hospital error, not a kidnapping) I would want visitation & get to know my him or her. However, if my son or daughter (biological, not the one I raised) wanted to remain in the home they were raised in and it was a suitable home (mothers have to look at for their kids)that would be okay, I would want my child to be happy. If one of my kids died, I would not only greatly miss them, but if they turned out to be the biological child of someone else, due to a switch, I would feel bad that the parent of the child I raised (their biological child) did not get the memories I did & share shories with that child. I am glad to hear that the real Kimberly Mays got to stay with her father who raised her,but nothing against the Twiggs. I just think they should have fought just for visititaion, not full custody. After all this poor man lost his wife, the daughter he raised he finds out, is not his own & his real daughter has also died. It is sad that the daughter the Twiggs raised died & I am sorry for their loss. However, after 10 years, kids are going to be happy with who has raised and cared for them for so long & they are not going to be happy about being uprooted from the list they know. I hope they are all doing well!!

I do have a little more insight on this story then most people do, I have at one time lived with the Twiggs, who are a very loving caring family, and the movie made them look like crap. At the time when Kim Mays lived there, I live there also. A lot of people think that the Twiggs did not look out for Kim, that is not true at all. I still talk to Kim's biological brother pretty often. I guess the best way to put it, is the movie is wrote well, however, the movie is fake, it does not really tell you what really happened. How do I know? Well because I lived it! I have talked to Kim many times. But here is what really has been going on with Kim, she is not doing great, she has a drug problem, she has been in and out of pasco county jail on a number of occasions on both prostration and drug charges. That is the real Kim Mays