Separated Sisters Reunite - Visitor's Story

by Ashley Dobbins
(Duke, OK, USA)

My sister and I were split up when I was 6 and she was was 8. DHS took me away and put me in foster care, and my sister and oldest brother was sent to Arizona to live with their Grandfather.

We kept in touch, but then the calls stopped and so did the letters. I tried calling, but the phone was out of service. I sent letters... no reply back. Here I am 16 and my sister will be 18 in April... 10 long years of not seeing each other. I'm beginning to lose hope and just give up. I miss her so much! I'm thinking she forgot about me or didn't really care.

Well in early January 2010 I came home from school and my uncle said I have some good news for you. I said I could use some good news right. My boyfriend just broke up with me and I'm having hard times in school at the moment. What's the news about?

He said your sister called. She is in Lawton, OK in some kind of a shelter. Her grandpa beat her and they moved her to there. I was crying tears of joy that I finally got to talk to her after 10 long years. I could barely speak. When I called up my sister she was crying too and we talked for 30 minutes. We started texting and she asked one of the ladies if she could see me. The lady set up an appointment to talk to her caseworker on January 5. The caseworker said we can see each other in the mall in Lawton Saturday January 9th 2010. I'm so excited and grateful that I will get to see her after almost all hope was gone.

We also have two brothers, one goes to school with me and he is a senior. The other lives somewhere in Arizona. Hopefully we will be reunited with him soon too... He's the oldest...

Well, this is wonderful for me but I have to go now.