Growing up, Kevin McMahon often heard playful jokes from his siblings about being “the mailman’s kid,” because he did not look much like them.
The 64-year-old Long Island man was the third of four children, but he always felt like something was off. It wasn’t until a shocking discovery that the true reason behind his feelings became clear.
After his niece took an over-the-counter DNA test, McMahon learned that he wasn’t actually related to his family at all.
It was his sister, Carol Vignola, who first learned about the DNA test results and did some research before speaking to him. She found birth records at New York’s Jamaica Hospital where McMahon was born, which revealed something shocking: another baby boy with the last name McMahon was born on the same day, within hours of Kevin. His name was Ross, and Carol’s DNA result said Ross was a direct relative.
“Two Caucasian mothers with the same last name, both giving birth to baby boys on the same day. They were switched before the birth certificates were even signed,” explained Jeremy Schiowitz, McMahon’s attorney.
The error went undetected for decades, with no one realizing the mistake until the DNA test exposed it.
“There’s no mystery as to what happened,” Schiowitz continued. “Jamaica Hospital switched the babies. The DNA proves it. The mystery is, how did they let this happen?”
In response to the discovery, McMahon filed a civil lawsuit against Jamaica Hospital. The hospital declined to comment on the case.
As a child, McMahon faced difficulties in his early life. His mother, an alcoholic, struggled with providing consistent care for her children. His three siblings were often cared for by their paternal grandmother, while McMahon was sent to live with a family friend. He often felt the sting of being treated differently by his grandmother, which he now believes may have been a result of the mix-up.
“I was treated differently by my grandmother,” McMahon recalled. “She didn’t like me, and in time, I took that to mean I wasn’t likable.”
While McMahon loves his siblings dearly, he can’t help but wonder how his life might have been different had he grown up with his birth parents, both of whom passed away years before he discovered the truth.
“I feel I could have shared so much with my birth parents, and I didn’t get to do that,” McMahon shared. “It certainly would have changed the whole course of my life.”
McMahon, of Selden, New York, recently was able to meet his blood family. He connected with Ross, the boy he was switched with at birth, and Keith, the younger brother he never had the chance to grow up with. McMahon’s sister, Carol, also met Ross, the brother she is now getting to know. The two families, brought together by a tragic mistake, are now learning to cope with the pain that was inflicted upon them decades ago.
“They are completely responsible,” McMahon said. “They made one calamitous mistake, and they totally changed the course of my life.”
As the legal battle continues, McMahon and his newfound family try to make sense of a story that, until recently, seemed impossible. For now, they’re left to rebuild what was lost — and what can never be replaced.
NBC New York reached out to Ross McMahon for comment, but he did not immediately return calls.
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