Together again

Orphaned sisters separated decades ago reunite in the US

Two orphaned sisters separated decades ago in South Korea have been reunited after miraculously getting hired on the same floor of a southwest Florida hospital.

Holly Hoyle O’Brien was adopted by a US couple in 1978 when she was 9 years old. A few years earlier, her biological father had wandered into the path of a speeding train and she went to live in an orphanage in South Korea. Her stepmother had taken her younger half-sister years earlier and left. It’s unclear where the two went.

O’Brien grew up in a happy home in Alexandria, Virginia, with three sisters and six brothers. Still, something was missing. One night, she woke up in tears, telling her parents, “my daddy died, I have a sister, we need to find her.”

Her adoptive mother contacted the orphanage but they had no record of a biological sister.

“But in my heart, I knew,” said O’Brien, now 46. “I knew she was out there somewhere.”

Her sister, Meagan Hughes, barely remembers the US or Korean orphanage where she eventually ended up. She was also adopted by a US family and grew up in Kingston, New York, about 300 miles (480 kilometers) from where her sister lived in Virginia.

Earlier this year, O’Brien was hired at Bayfront Health Port Charlotte, working on the fourth floor with the medical surgical unit. Two months later, Hughes, who had been working as a physical therapy assistant, was hired.

“One of the patients told me there was another nurse, named Meagan, who was from Korea. She said you should talk to her, maybe you’re from the same town,” said O’Brien.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that the two instantly connected and soon the similarities started adding up. DNA tests confirmed their suspicions this summer.

“I’m like, this can’t be,” O’Brien said. “I was trembling, I was so excited, I was ecstatic.”

She even called the lab to double check the results were correct.

When Hughes finally heard the news she said, “I was in shock, I was numb. I have a sister.”

O’Brien does not have children but is now an aunt to two nieces. She’s already excited about the holidays.

“I have this very strong belief that God must be ... like, whatever I’ve done, I must’ve done something good in my life,” O’Brien said through tears.

I’m like, this can’t be. I was trembling, I was so excited, I was ecstatic.”

Holly Hoyle O'Brien, adopted by a US couple in 1978 when she was 9

DAN WAGNER / ASSOCIATED PRESS Sisters Holly Hoyle O'Brien (left) and Meagan Hughes pose for a photo at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota in Sarasota, Florida. The sisters, separated decades ago in South Korea, were reunited after being hired at the same hospital.