A man has shared how his biological parents managed to track him down 56 years after giving him up for adoption – and has finally learnt the truth about what happened when he was born
A man has been left “giggling like a schoolboy” after his biological parents managed to track him down after 56 long years.
The man, who was adopted at birth, was raised in Eastern Canada by a couple who “loved him very much” so he never felt the need to search for his biological parents. However, this all changed when he was gifted a DNA test one Christmas. He said the gift was intended to learn more about his background rather than his bloodline.
Speaking on his behalf, his 22-year-old son said on Reddit: “All he had from his birth parents was a letter which told him he was born out of love, but they could not support him when he was born.
“So when my sister decided to get him a genetic test for Christmas, it was to find out what ethnicity we all are and the thought of finding his birth parents didn’t even cross our minds. Eventually, when we got his results, we were surprised to find the names of two people with perfect genetic matches to my dad.”
After being presented with an option to reach out to his parents for the first time, he decided to write them each an email and calmly waited for their response. He added: “Almost immediately, his biological dad, who I’ll call Jim (not his real name), responded! He said how excited and happy he was to have found my dad and how he had been looking for him for so long.
“My dad, who is usually an emotionally reserved man, was curled up on the couch grinning as he was texting Jim for the first time. I was still in shock from the news, but was so happy to see my dad even happier than when I graduated uni. Soon thereafter, he also received a message from his biological mum, Debby (not her real name). By talking to them both, my dad learned the story of his birth and I think that it’s absolutely wild.”
He came to learn Debby’s father – his biological grandfather – moved from Australia to Canada during the 1960s for work. The family ended up moving to the Midwest, where Debby met Jim at age 17. “They were high school sweethearts and were thinking of marriage after they graduated, but then Debby got pregnant.
“Her dad was furious and sent her back to Canada to give birth and arranged a private adoption. Once she gave birth, she was able to let Jim know that she was being sent back to Australia. They never saw each other again for the next forty years.”
Both Debby and Jim eventually married other people. While Jim’s wife couldn’t have children after an accident, Debby went on to have three daughters.
“They [Debby and Jim] saw each other for the first time around 12 years ago, as they reconnected on Facebook and Debby happened to be taking a trip to the West Coast of America.”
The poster explained both Debby and Jim had wanted to keep their baby and searched for him for years – but the province where their child grew up “apparently is one of the hardest places in the world to find adoption information,” the poster wrote. The parents eventually gave up until genetics tests became popular.
“He [Jim] asked Debby to take every single one, and he did the same, about five years ago, in the hopes that one day my dad would take one. When he received my dad’s message, he immediately wrote to Debby: ‘I found him.'”
Jim and his wife now keep in regular contact with his biological son and his family, the only blood relatives the couple have. The poster and his father are even planning to visit Jim, although they have yet to make plans with Debby as she still lives in Australia. However, they said they were thrilled to learn they had three new aunts and five new younger cousins.
“I don’t know how to end this, I am still processing everything. It’s absolutely incredible to have my family grow so much, but also a little overwhelming. I’m so happy for my dad, for Jim, and for Debby, and am so excited to get to know them better. I hope I get to meet my new cousins soon too! I feel so incredibly lucky that this happened, seemingly against all odds.”
