Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Birth certificate

It’s one day a mother never forgets. The day her baby is born.

For Christine Unger it was March 28, 1980, the day little Andrea came into the world.

Christine Unger
"It was a wonderful thing."

She watched her baby girl head to school, meet Santa, become a Girl Scout and turn into a young lady.

All grown up now, her family planned a trip to Italy. Andrea needed her first passport. She tried to get her paperwork together, but something was missing.

Andrea Unger
"The one thing we weren't able to find was my birth certificate."

That seemed easy. Andrea got online and requested a copy. But when it arrived something was wrong -- her birthday.

Andrea Unger
"That said March 28, 1990."

1990? Yikes. This birth certificate makes Andrea only 15 years old, which she was in 1995, but not anymore.

Christine Unger
"She was born in 1980. I was there."

So mom tried to get someone to fix it, but no luck.

Christine Unger
"There was really nothing that we could do."

How to get back the missing ten years? Mom contacted one more person.

Christine Unger
"Help Me Hank."

Ok, so no question Andrea wasn't a teenager, so why did the certificate say so?

It turns out Andrea just used an online ordering service. All they have is what the state gives them. So we went back to the source: the Office of Vital Records in Arizona.

They discovered Andrea’s original birth record was handwritten and later typed into a computer database. The original did say 1980, but somebody accidentally typed in 1990 instead.

The office instantly fixed the ten-year typo and sent Andrea this official record of her actual birthday.

Christine Unger
"She was once again 25."

And before you could say Buon Compleanno, that’s Happy Birthday, she had a new passport.

Andrea Unger
"I’m extremely excited."

And her family took off for Italy.

If you need to get a copy of your Massachusetts birth certificate, contact the state's Registry of Vital Records.

Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics