RAMSEUR, N.C. — When you’re 8 years old, and your parents get a divorce, your world is changed forever.
“I remember being confused. I was not sure what was going on,” said Abigail.
In a matter of days, Abigail went from living with two parents to living with just her mom. Abigail will tell you she was never close to her dad, but this was still a shock to her system.
“He wasn’t exactly present. He did his own thing,” Abigail said.
A couple of years later, there was a new challenge: Abigail's mom started to date a new man, and a short time later, they planned to marry. Abigail was about to have a stepdad.
“It was like, who is this person coming here?” Abigail said. “We weren’t close for the first two years or so.”
Time, however, has a way of bringing people together or pulling them apart; in this case, it brought them together. David Morgan and Abigail developed a father-daughter relationship she had never had before.
“I’d never felt a close father-daughter relationship before,” Abigail said.
The family would go on trips every year, and slowly but surely, Abigail and her stepdad became family.
“I love him to death. I would do anything for him. I love him so much,” Abigail said.
That bond continued to grow year after year. Then, early last year, Abigail decided to surprise him by giving him something, but by giving him something, she’d have to take something, his last name. Abigail wanted to be Abigail Morgan.
“When I told him, he started tearing up just a little bit, and he never does that ever,” Abigail said.
She applied for the name change and hoped to surprise him for Father’s Day last year. Abigail filed for the name change and paid the required amount. She then waited and waited and waited. Father’s Day came and went, and still no birth certificate was sent with her new name.
After waiting several more months, the family attorney suggested Abigail contact WFMY News 2. Her mother sent an email explaining the situation. We then contacted DHHS and emailed to see what could be done.
An administrator told us the agency would investigate and get back to us. A short time later, the birth certificate arrived, and Abigail had a new last name.
“I can tell you he was blown away by it all,” Abigail said. “He can go to other people now and say this is my daughter, like this is my girl.”
This past Sunday, Abigail and David celebrated their first Father’s Day as father and daughter.