In this episode of KARAMO, host Karamo mediates a family intervention about a grandmother’s suspicion that her grandson was switched at birth. Mary, the grandmother, recounts several anomalies that sparked her doubt: mismatched footprints, differing physical features (head shape, eyebrows, lips, weight), and a surprising blood‑type discrepancy noted at the hospital. The infant was later diagnosed with cystencephaly, a rare brain‑development disorder that caused severe developmental delays and cerebral palsy. Mary pursued a DNA grandparentage test, which returned a low 2.3% relatedness, deepening her concerns. The conversation shifts to Mary’s daughter Kaisa, who denies the switch, expresses fatigue with the accusations, and emphasizes her love for the child. Throughout, Karamo reviews photos of the footprints, facilitates emotional exchange, and urges the family toward truth and reconciliation. The episode ends with a DNA test reveal, an apology from Mary, and a mutual commitment to maintain love and communication despite lingering doubts.
Chapters
Please share with me, why do you think your grandson was switched at birth?
Because things didn't add up when, as to him, her having a full-term birth and then the way he quickly changed.
In what ways?
He was born, it was during Corona time. It was January of '21.
Okay.
So the hospitals had finally started letting more people in at a time. And so, The dad and I both were in the room with her. He came out, I walked over to the table with him when they did the footprints and cleaned them up. I took a picture of the footprints and then they, she held them for about 2 minutes, maybe 5. Nobody else took pictures with them and then they took them. She didn't see them again. That was 12 in the afternoon. She didn't see them again until 12 in the morning and in between that time, they came to the room and told us that they didn't bring them because that he needed to get blood. And at that time is when she was told that they had different blood types. And that was the first time she had heard of that, being that she had never missed an appointment. Didn't even know that that was even possible. But then finding out other people have had kids, their kids don't have the same blood type. So moving forward from that, he was in the NIC unit, basically for jaundice at the time. And then we would video chat and I would do, screenshots while she was with them. And like the 5th day, he just looked like a totally different child.
And we have some of the pictures that you gave to my producers. I wanna see this.
Yeah, so that was her when he first, that was a few moments they let her hold him. Then that was like the 2nd day. And then that's when he came home on the 10th day.
Oh, okay. Do you think those babies look different? If you think the babies look different, go ahead and raise your hand. Okay, so most of the people in this audience, everybody think that the baby looks different.
Yeah, the biggest things for me was like the head shape, of course. Then the first initial baby has eyebrows. The baby at home didn't have eyebrows. The lips are a little different. And the fact he was 7 pounds, 2 ounces. But he was 6, 7 pounds.
Did they explain how the baby Is it true that the eyebrows could just go away in a child? I've never heard of that.
No.
Okay. No. And you say the footprints don't match either, is that true?
Correct. The footprints never came home with her.
Yeah.
So the only copy that I had was from my phone.
From your phone.
I took it that day. And so, like I say, time had been progressing it, and at some point he was, within the 10 days, he was diagnosed with cystencephaly, which is where a person, the child is born missing parts of their brain, one or two, both parts. Then it come out that it's supposed to be hereditary and it skips generations possibly or whatever. And so I start, so that's when I start asking people in my family. Yeah, like, has anybody ever had this throughout the years or whatever? And so it was all new to everybody. But at the same time, I could say him having a system encephaly, he's missing his parts of his brain. He was in the hospital for 10 days. She didn't go home with any help. She didn't go home. They didn't give her a phone number for a social worker. Even though she was 18.
Yeah, yeah. Normally you'd give her some support.
She had nothing.
How's the baby now?
He's 4.
He just turned 4.
He just turned 4. And is his health good? Is he doing better?
As far as, well, because of the cystencephaly, it's developmental delays. So he's actually functioning now maybe like a 2-month-old. He's starting to hold his head up a little bit, but he responds. We joke about it because it's like his mental part is good 'cause he can respond. Like if you say, "Do you like this?" Or he don't want this or whatever, he'll, "Uh-huh, uh-huh." Stuff like that. But as far as him physically, they say that the cystencephaly caused the cerebral palsy.
So. Okay, got it. Did you tell your daughter about your suspicions?
I did. It took a while. It took a while because you know, there's something serious, there's something sensitive. She cried, of course. And you know, we discussed what would happen if it wasn't. And so I went to a local clinic, got a test done, came back and said I was 2.3 related as a grandmother. I did a grandmother's test and it was 2.3. And I'm like, how is it 2.3? And she's my daughter.
You know, that was like— So I wanna go back to those footprints 'cause we have some photos of the footprints you took.
I can say it's a lot of similarities, but then again, there are some discrepancies. In the original foot, it looks like it could have possibly been an arch, and the lines, the hard lines that are in the foot, they're lines. But then on the actual child, they're like curves, they're semicircles. And then this big one right here is going down, and there's nowhere in that particular foot at all.
Okay.
And the same thing with the left foot.
Yeah.
You can see that the arch was there and I've even twisted the camera to try to make things make sense of it or whatever.
Yeah, to make it match, but it's not matching.
It's not.
Wow, okay. Have your doubts affected your relationship with your daughter?
Because she's so passive, I can't tell. You can't tell? I don't know.
Yeah.
I don't know.
Got it. So I wanna meet your daughter and hear her side of the story. So everyone please welcome Kaisa to the show. Hello, Kaisa.
Hello. Yes, before I sit down, can you bring them pictures back up? 'Cause I ain't never seen them.
Oh yeah, you can bring the photos back up. Can we bring 'em back up?
Now, Mama, what you said you saw?
This is the left foot.
Okay.
And then there's like, they're called hard lines. And the hard lines, they're the ones that stand out the most.
Okay.
And this bottom, if you go to this curve going up, midway under the toes, it's going up. That line is not there. And if it is a line there, it's going the opposite direction.
But you see that one line going down? That's still there. His toe, he was a baby.
Mama, feet grow. And they grow the same direction. They're not gonna change direction regardless of it being a 1 foot or 12 feet. The direction is not gonna change. You can't make a circle out of a straight line. That's not gonna happen.
I don't see a difference in the feet, but to each his own.
Kaja, I wanna ask you, what do you feel about what your mother has been saying?
I'm tired.
You're tired of it?
I'm—
I just, I don't understand why she go so hard about it, 'cause Granted, yeah, you my mama, but like, that's my baby.
At the same time, even if it was anybody else's child, it's the proper care of a child.
Do you think your son was switched at birth?
No, I don't. I don't see how she could think that. Hospitals done got a lot better. You don't hear about people switching babies and stealing babies. Who be stealing babies now?
It's not the fact that you stealing a child, it's just the fact that, I mean, a lot of times things don't get heard. People don't see that, just like you, you don't care because you bonded with the child. I love the baby.
Let's not say you don't care. Let's not say don't care. 'Cause it's not that I don't care. I just don't understand why you going so hard.
Them the ones, not you. If I'm a part of your life and that child is a part of my life, 'cause I'm not gonna change that, then yeah, it is a part, it is a card that I have to deal with too. It's not that I'm gonna ever turn my back on you or the baby.
But this DNA test, What does that prove to you?
What I'm saying is if this isn't the right child, then the right child needs to get the right care.
So that's what you're thinking. You feel like this is, your mother's going hard for this because you feel like the disability has something to do with it.
I can't tell that you not ashamed.
When did your mom start telling you the theories?
When he was 2.
When he was 2?
Mm-hmm.
And what did, how did you react?
I was like, is you cool? Because how you, you just, she just came outta the blue about it. We play all the time. She come home, "Kaj, we need to talk." So I'm thinking, I don't know what she finna ask me. But then you come to me and say, "Oh, I done did his footprints and all this other stuff. I don't think he yours." I got stress marks to prove somebody's mine. So, that's the thing.
I didn't disagree with her. I didn't disagree with that because she has those feelings, but like I said, that's why it took me so long too How true are we with the situation?
How does she treat your son? Does she treat your son like her grandbaby?
She's in love with that little boy. I might as well have had him for her.
So there is a love and support there that you feel.
Yeah.
So it means that your concern from what I'm receiving is not malicious intent. It's like you just really want answers.
It's just better to know.
What we gonna do, go find another baby? I'm gonna have 2 kids 'cause I'm not giving up on the one I raised.
That's it.
I think it's time to unlock the DNA truth. Mary, you wanted this DNA test so that you can know the truth if this is your grandchild is actually your daughter's child. This is your truth to open, not mine. So here you go.
Now when you open it, accept whatever come with it.
Right, I agree. But at the same time, you have to understand, as a mother and a grandmother, it's in me to love and to care and to make sure that things are taken care of in a proper manner. That's it. That's it.
That's all. I will tell you this. I will tell you this. After photos, eyebrows, the lips, footprints, and then you saying you got a DNA test that said 2.3%, I do understand why your mother has doubts, but I also understand your feelings of saying, I'm trying to love my child the best I can, be here for my child the best I can as a new mother, and I need to understand why are we having this conversation. So I understand both perspectives, which is why getting this DNA truth is so important.
So there's two things at play. The first thing goes to you because now that you know that this is your child, and what I don't want is I can see in this loving relationship and I know that your mother's there for you. I can tell that you got that support. I can also see where trust and communication can break down because I can tell you're not gonna be someone who's gonna fight. You're not gonna bring these things up. Your demeanor is more of a kinder, sweeter spirit. And so the fact that you might not speak up for yourself, you could end up not trusting or communicating with your mom. And I don't wanna see that broken. So I want you to understand that the action's dope here. The intention was pure. The intention was full of love. The impact was the trust between my daughter and I could be broken. So I want you to be able to address that and be able to give her an apology.
I'm sorry, I apologize. Like I said, I love y'all so much. Y'all all I have. And it's just, I just want the best for everybody. So the thing you asked me after we came on here, you said leave it alone. I'm gonna leave it alone. But at the end of the day, like I said, you know I'm here for you. You know I love you and you know that's my man.
Can you accept that? That apology and that commitment?
Yeah.
Yeah. For sure. Mm. Let me tell you something. Your son is lucky to have both of you in his life, and there's no denying that, honestly. That's right. All right, everyone. Thank you for being with us. Make sure to come back next time, friends, so we can keep talking and growing. I love you all.
