You never know what the future is going to be like and sometimes, you may make a decision that changes the course of history for more than one person. This happened to a little girl in 1964 when her mother gave her up for adoption.

Despite the fact that the little girl was only 24 hours old, she already had adoptive parents who were ready to take her in. Barbara Crane and Paul Gilbert were about to become her parents, and her life was never going to be the same from that point forward.

Her younger brother, Jonathan, was also adopted by the couple. Paul was an actor and dancer who also told jokes. He and his wife, who was also an actress in her 20s adopted the children. Paul and Barbara ended up separating when she was only six, and she said that her father was incredibly talented.

Unfortunately, Paul passed away from a stroke while he was sleeping in 1976. She knew from a very young age that she was adopted, and her mother, Kathy Wood, had told her about it when she was a child. Her biological mother was a prima ballerina and her father had been a road scholar.

Her adoptive parents decided to work in their careers rather than raise her and her brother, so they gave her up.

She ended up learning about her biological parents when she was old enough. She actually learned that her mother was a dancer but not a prima ballerina and her father was a stock-car racer & painter.

After Paul passed away, she learned more about her adoption. Her godmother talked about the day they had taken her from the hospital.

It seems as if they didn’t have any plans to adopt a child that day. They weren’t looking for a child but when she told her husband that a baby was available, he told her to “go get it.”

They had been trying to have a child of their own but were unsuccessful.

She also learned at the age of 45 that her father had not died of a stroke, he had committed suicide. Everybody had kept it a secret from her because of the possibility it could be damaging to the family. She found out because she hired a detective to learn more about it.

After learning the truth, she didn’t eat or sleep for about six months. She couldn’t believe that she had lost her adoptive father to suicide but she decided to honor his memory by becoming a mental health awareness and suicide prevention advocate.

By now, you probably know that we are talking about Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls on the Little House on the Prairie series. She admits that she was blessed by being in that position.

Melissa now is married to her third husband, Timothy Busfield and they are already combined grandparents to eight grandchildren.

You never know where life is going to take you and Melissa Gilbert has certainly learned a lot from her experiences in life. We are thankful that we had her as part of that show and part of our lives for many years.