Her case first hit the headlines in 1998, when it emerged that Callie and Rebecca Chittum – who were born within one day on each other – at the University of Virginia Medical Centre had been accidentally switched over, and placed with the wrong parents.
The shocking discovery came to light after Callie’s supposed parents, Paula Johnson and Carlton Conley ended their relationship.
After DNA testing was ordered by a court to determine paternity of Callie, when she was just a toddler, the results showed neither Paula or Carton were biologically related to the girl they believed was their daughter.
A case was launched against the hospital and they managed to track down Rebecca – after investigating differences in the size and feeding habits of the girls when they were babies.
Soon after, Rebecca was found to be the other switched baby, living with teenage sweethearts Kevin Chittum and Whitney Rogers.
But tragically, only days after Callie’s parents received the DNA results, Rebecca’s parents died in a car accident. Sadly, they never knew the truth about the mix up.
Years of bitter lawsuits followed between Paula Johnson and both sets of Rebecca’s grandparents, as each side tried to hold on to custody of each child, while Paula also tried to claim back her real daughter Rebecca.
Eventually it was ruled that both the girls would stay with the guardians that brought them up, to avoid psychological suffering, though visitation rights were arranged so that each girl could see one another and their relatives every fortnight.
Sadly however, Paula no longer has contact with her biological daughter Rebecca after their relationship broke down.
Now, Callie lives alone in Richmond, Virginia, and cherishes a special relationship to Paula, the woman she calls “my mom and my best friend”.
Speaking about growing up knowing about the parents she never met, Callie said:
“The big question everyone always asks me is 'Would you prefer your parents still be alive or passed?
“I say I don’t know what I’m missing so in a sense, I do feel more sorry for Rebecca, because she doesn’t know her biological mom.”
And Paula has been open with Callie about the fact that she isn’t her biological mother from the start, teaching her daughter “she was born in Whitney’s belly and born in my heart”.