18 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | JUNE 2018 FROM HERE TO PATERNITY A Valley woman takes a chance and discovers a vital piece of her past. If there is a door, walk through it. Otherwise it is just a wall. This bit of encouragement comes from a life coach I interviewed on my podcast. She encourages people to embrace change and push past their fear of the unknown. In other words, walk through the door. Valley mom Paula Wichterman walked through the door and it changed her life. Wichterman is well-known in philanthropy circles. She is on the Phoenix Heart Ball committee and takes part in many other charitable causes. Formerly a bank executive, Wichterman left her full-time career to spend more time with her husband and children and explore entrepreneurial endeavors (including a jewelry line called Sugar Mama Jewels). She had a full life. A successful life. A life she was able to control. But a door was about to open for her in a most unexpected way. Forty-four years ago, Wichterman was born in South Carolina but given up for adoption as an infant. Hers was a closed adoption, so no details about her biological parents were known. She was adopted by a loving couple in Greenville, South Carolina. Her father was a minister and her mother was a nurse. Wichterman had a great childhood. Fast-forward to last year, when Wichterman and her children were watching TV and saw a commercial for Ancestry.com. Her boys encouraged her to take a chance and find out more about her roots. She had no idea that this simple test would open a door to finding her biological parents. “This was like careening down a highway with no steering wheel,” Wichterman said. “It’s like being out of control, and I don’t like that feeling.” Carey Peña | Contributing Writer CAREY ’ S CORNER

JUNE 2018 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 19 Paula Wichterman with her biological father, Terry.