A movie-like tale of courage and family reunion

This is a heart-warming as well as inspiring story of persistence overcoming all odds as well as of an unbelievable family reunion. It all started on October 1, 1987 when a girl was born at a major hospital in Illinois. However, the infant's father refused to accept it, seeing that she no legs.

The newborn, the second child of Dmitry Morceanu and Camelia, was given away for adoption even before its mother or elder sister aged six could take a look at her.

The doctor who attended to the child gave it to a friend named Gerald Bricker and his wife Sharon for adoption. The couple had three sons and had yearned for a daughter. The girl child, named Jennifer, soon grew up among three elder brothers. Her life transformed.

By age four, Jennifer could carry out her daily tasks independently. Gerald always taught her to never say, "It is impossible."

At age six, she started playing basketball and baseball as well as climbing trees with her brothers.

One day, Jennifer saw a 13-year-old girl's gymnastics performance on television. That was Dominique Morceanu, who found a place in the US gymnastics team at a young age.

"I, too, wish to learn gymnastics," said Jennifer to her parents.

She was enrolled at a gymnastics school and started practising with Dominique as her role model. By age 15, Jennifer had earner her name as a top gymnast in USA.

While Dominique was part of the gold-winning US team at the Atlanta Olympics of 1996, Jennifer won a prize at the Junior Olympics held two years later.

At age 16, Jennifer expressed the desire to meet her biological parents. The Bricker family took Jennifer to the hospital where she was born and checked old records. It was found that Jennifer's father was named Dmitry Morceanu. Jennifer remembered that the name of Dominique's father was also the same.

The subsequent investigation revealed some surprising truths. The six-year-old girl who left the hospital without seeing her younger sister on October 1, 1987 was none other than Dominique. She had another sister too now, named Christina.

Jennifer immediately wrote to Dominique about their relationship. She also attached copies of her birth details from the hospital and a photo of herself. As soon as Dominique saw the photo she realized that Jennifer was her sister. This was because Jennifer and Christina looked almost the same.

Jennifer and Dominique soon met. Visiting Dominique's house, Jennifer found that her father had died some time back due to cancer. Overcome by emotions of guilt and happiness, he mother hugged Jennifer.

"Don't sympathize with me. It is fate that is the cause of my present condition. If all this had not happened, my life would have been wasted," said Jennifer.

Now aged 31, Jennifer lives happily with her mother and sisters. She is a noted gymnast, model, television presenter and motivational speaker. Jennifer's autobiography titled 'Everything is possible: Finding the faith and courage to follow your dreams' is among America's biggest bestsellers.