How I Found My Birth Mother after 35 Years

I want to share a very personal story with you that I hope will inspire you to never give up and to truly believe that opportunity will arise in the midst of difficulty.

Many of you may not know this, but I am adopted. My adoptive family is the most loving, caring, supportive, and amazing family. I am blessed and thankful everyday for them. However, I’ve always felt that there was something missing in my heart. I yearned to know the person who gave me life. Without her, I wouldn’t be here today. But, I had a closed adoption which means that I’m never supposed to be given my birth mother’s name. Without a name, it was extremely challenging to locate her.

I’ve always been very healthy; however, back in 2005 at age 30, I suffered a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in my lungs). People can die from this health condition within seconds. Prior to my diagnosis, I didn’t have any symptoms – nothing. My doctor was perplexed by the situation; she had no idea what caused this. She told me that it could possibly be hereditary. Since I’m adopted, I didn’t know anything about my birth family’s medical history. However, my doctor wrote a letter stating that I needed my birth mother’s name for medical purposes. Because of that letter, I was able to get a court order stating that social services had to release my birth mother’s name. I finally received her name in 2005. I did some internet research, and I found her address. She lived over 2000 miles away. So, I sent her a letter, but I never received a response back. I assumed that she didn’t want anything to do with me.

However, I took a bold step on July 6, 2010. I decided to fly over 2000 miles to see her. I just knocked on her door (not knowing if she was going to slam the door in my face or not). She was extremely shocked to see me, but she and her husband welcomed me into their home. They were so happy that I came. They told me that they admired me, and they thought I was such a sweet & special person with a tremendous amount of courage. That was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but it was so worth it. It was wonderful to meet the person that gave birth to me. I had been carrying this unknown void for so many years, and that void was finally filled. It was a true miracle!

Everything happens for a reason. If I wouldn’t have had that pulmonary embolism, I wouldn’t have been able to get the court order to get my birth mother’s name. So, something really amazing happened because of that painful illness. Now, I can share my story with you. I hope my story has empowered you to know that something good will always come from a difficult situation.