Reading: Mistaken Identity, by Mark Tabb (pgs. 153-204)

In the next section of Tabb's book, Mistaken Identity, the identities of the two girls begin to surface.  In chapter fourteen, Tabb describes more of the Van Ryn family's experiences with Laura in therapy.  She begins to do normal actions such as speaking about colors and people.  She also begins to move more normally with her own body.  Overall she is gaining her life back, and the Van Ryn's appear very optimistic and elated with her progress. 

In chapter fifteen, the mistaken identities of the two girls are finally revealed.  Laura is revealed to be Whitney Cerak.  At first, the Van Ryns do not have any strong evidence to see that the girl is not their daughter.  However, they begin to realize through investigation that there is a possibility that the identities of the girls was swapped.  Ultimately, they come to a final verdict that the girl is indeed Whitney, not Laura. 

In chapter sixteen, the Van Ryns describe telling their entire family about Laura's apparent death.  They realized Laura was the dead child rather than Whitney in the car crash.  The occasion was somber, but they knew their daughter was in heaven with the Lord.

In chapter seventeen, the author describes the reactions of the Ceraks when they find out their child is alive.  They are told that Whitney is alive.  At first, they deny the message.  Through both persuasion and evidence, they begin to realize that the child who survived to the car crash was indeed Whitney.  They feel shocked when they realize the news is true, yet they still are very happy when they bring Whitney home.  To the family, it feels like they gained something extremely value that they thought they had lost.

After reading this section of Tabb's book, I unfortunately know that I cannot imagine the feelings of both families in the story.  The Van Ryns must have felt great sorrow when they came to the realization that their daughter was the one who died in the crash.  On the flip side, the Ceraks must have felt pleasantly surprised when they realized their child was alive.  Honestly, the Ceraks must have felt a surreal experience.  I believe people may only experience a surreal experience a couple times a lifetime.  I feel like I have experienced one of these before, yet I think I could have an even more powerful experience in the future.  I look forward to reading the conclusion of this story.