"Hi, I'm Jaycee."
As introductions go, this may seem pretty simple. But waking up to Jaycee Dugard smiling and wearing a pink ball cap as she says it is downright moving.
On Good Morning America's website, she continues: "I want to thank you for your support and I'm doing well," she says. "It's been a long haul, but I'm getting there."
The now 29-year-old was famously kidnapped when she was just 11 and resurfaced in August. Her mother, Terry Probyn, released a home video and direct messages exclusively to ABC. They'll be airing more of it on 20/20 tonight, but gave a tease—just that chilling greeting and a few other choice moments—on GMA today.
The clips show Jaycee baking cookies around the holidays with her mom and sister Shayna. They're dressed casually, laughing and having a great time. To watch it, you'd never know what the family has been through.
George Stephanopoulos also shows an image of Jaycee on a horse as part of horse therapy, which concedes that the way one approaches a horse is the way one will approach life. Working on the connection with the animal will help the patient to connect to humans while also giving them a sense of power.
Something must be working—self-educated Jaycee has received her driver's license, is working toward earning a GED and hopes to go to college.
Terry addresses the viewer directly to explain why they've released this footage.
"It is my desire to share our miracle with the world. But it must be done on our terms. What my family needs is privacy during our healing process," she says, after thanking people for their support. "Please give us the time we need to heal as a family without the prying eyes of the photographers and the press. We released this video so you can see that we are happy and well. And when we have more to share, we will.
"As a mother, I am pleading for our privacy in this very public story."
Stephanopoulos explained that it has not yet been decided whether Jaycee will have to testify against her captors, Nancy and Phillip Garrido, but it will likely depend on her state of mind and willingness to relive the past two decades as she explains it in a courtroom.
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With stories this heavy, we give thanks for all the adorableness that lives in the Big Picture gallery.