Separated in China, reunited on Good Morning America. Twins graduate top of their class

Many may know Gracie Rainsberry’s story, but probably don’t know Gracie Rainsberry, the person.

If not, here’s a few bullet points to start: She’s the youngest of four kids to a Tri-Cities family, loves playing soccer and petting dogs, and is a driven 4.0 student who wants to study occupational therapy.

She also lives with a heart condition — Tetralogy of Fallot — that nearly took her life at a young age.

“The analogy my mom uses is I’m kind of like a car engine: I’ll need repairs every now and again, but for right now in this moment, I’m fixed,” said the 18-year-old who most recently underwent heart surgery six years ago.

Then, there’s the story of how she reunited with her Chinese-American twin at the age of 10 on “Good Morning America,” renewing a connection with her lost sibling and touching the hearts of millions nationwide.

“It’s a part of my story, but it’s not my story,” Rainsberry said. “The beautiful thing is that I’ve still been able to live my life and grow and become my own person.”

She and her twin, Audrey Doering, of Wausau, Wis., are graduating high school this year. Both are valedictorians of their schools — Kamiakin High School in Kennewick and Wausau West High School.

And “Good Morning America” caught back up with the teens recently after Rainsberry traveled last month to see Doering graduate.

Her sister planned to fly out to Washington state to watch Rainsberry walk Saturday, June 8, at the Toyota Center.

Just eight years ago, they didn’t know each other existed, let alone were twins.

Jennfier Doering was conducting background research on Audrey in 2016, searching for a paper advertisement tied to her daughter, when she came across a shocking picture showing a pair of identical baby girls.

One was her adopted daughter — 10-year-old Audrey — and the other was her twin, Gracie Rainsberry, sitting on their Chinese foster mom’s lap. A Chinese researcher later confirmed the two were likely related.

The twins were 15 months old when they adopted from China by the Doerings and Rainsberries in summer 2007. It’s unclear why they were separated.

Jennifer Doering reached out to the Rainsberry family, and the twins met for the first time in 2017 on the ABC program.

Both of their stories have been featured on TV news and in newspapers, and the two remain close years later — despite being thousands of miles apart.

Rainsberry plans to attend Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon, and Doering will attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, with hopes of attending medical school.

“Obviously, I would love for us to be closer together, but it’s just so hard in that our studies are so different,” Rainsberry said. “She’ll probably have seven more years of schools where I’ll probably have four.”

Forging sisterhood

Rainsberry said she doesn’t remember the exact day she found out she had a twin, but remembers her mom — a paraeducator at Cottonwood Elementary — coming up to her and showing her the picture with her foster mom.

“My mom just came in and was like, ‘Do you know who this lady is you’re sitting with?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ And I just went back to playing with my friends. That was during the day and that night I believe is when my parents told me about Audrey,” Rainsberry said.

“I was just super overwhelmed and, of course, I was so young and didn’t know how to feel,” she said of learning about her twin. “I just remember crying and that was pretty much the only thing I truly remember. I think I was just more shocked than anything.”

Rainsberry considers herself more American than Chinese-American. She doesn’t think much about what her life could have been like had she not been adopted by an U.S. family.

“My life here is my life here,” she said. “Knowing how serious of a health condition I had, had I not been adopted I probably would have died just because I’ve had to have multiple surgeries.”

Despite being raised half a continent away, Rainsberry says she and Doering are more similar than different.

“It’s hard to describe our differences, thinking about it now. I guess the biggest difference is that Audrey is more outgoing whereas I’m more introverted, reserved,” she said.

Today, Rainsberry and Doering message each other daily, chatting about life events, graduation, changes and sports. The two have become close over the last several years, spending birthdays and vacations together.

“We talk about what any other sibling would talk about. It’s just a lot harder to give advice and stuff because we are across the country,” Rainsberry said.

Kamiakin Braves

Rainsberry is a Running Start student and also will graduate with her direct transfer associate’s degree from Columbia Basin College this month.

She played varsity soccer all four years at Kamiakin and helped lead her team to a top-three finish at state. Rainsberry remains active with the National Honor Society and local Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization.

She also currently works part-time at Columbia Valley Chiropractic.

Kamiakin Principal Chris Chelin said Rainsberry’s personal story matched with her excellent academic record makes him appreciate just how unique of a student she is.

“We’re just excited,” Chelin said of the Class of 2024. “They have been a gift to Kamiakin, and in a couple short days they will be Kamiakin’s gift to the world.”

While high school had many highs, there were also some lows, Rainsberry said. Her freshman year started with remote learning during the COVID pandemic.

“Sophomore year was my first normal full year of school. I loved it, it was so much fun playing soccer and all that,” she said.

Rainsberry said she was scared about the “jump” from middle school to high school academics, but said she found support through her teachers and her tight-knit group of friends.

“I was prepared for the worst, but it was a really great experience,” she said.