Catherine Semvel-Smith, 45, was hired at the age of 6 months and wanted to know who her mother was.
This longing only grew when she became a mother herself.
Catherine was taken to an orphanage in Chile, traveled with her adoptive parents in 1977 and traveled 7,000 miles to the UK.
When her adoptive mother died in 2010, she wanted to know who her real mother was.
Just knowing her mother’s name, Catherine was a contributor to the Charity IAC The Center for Adoption project in 2019 and joined a Facebook group that links Chilean adoptions with their birth families.
He entered with little hope, but last year he was lucky.
One morning in April 2021, he received a message that his mother had been found.
He affirms:
“In the end, a local police officer who was helping the group found my mom, Ximena, knocked on her door and asked if she was my mom.
He confirmed that it was.
-I was surprised that she denied it and closed the door, but my mother agreed to talk to me.
“Finally, the shard fell into place.”
Catherine was devastated when her adoptive mother, Rosie, died of cancer at the age of 64 and she felt like she was an orphan again.
He states, “When I joined the Facebook group in 2019, I didn’t expect to find my mother much.
“I was hoping someone would point me in the right direction, but for a while it didn’t work very well.”
The group compiled a list of women living in Chile, known as Catherine’s birth mother, and contacted them one by one until they found Ximena.
He states: “When I started looking for Ximena, it seemed like an almost impossible task, I rarely continued and I didn’t know where to start.
“The Facebook group has something to do with Chile and it was important to find it.
“And I’m so happy that they did that. I feel like I finally know who I am and I look forward to seeing him in person next year.”
His adoptive parents were always open, so his past was never kept a secret.
He said. “My mom and dad didn’t hide anything from me. I don’t remember talking to them for the first time, but I think they were about three or four years old.
“I remember being very proud to adopt and talking to everyone at school when I was about five years old.”
“I had a very happy childhood, and I am a big advocate for adoption.
But when I was 17 years old, I wanted to know more about my whereabouts, so I went on a trip to Chile with my mother.
“At the time I wasn’t very interested in finding a birth family, but when I asked about my records, the orphanage told me they would get rid of them after I turned 16. ..
In 2019, Catherine began searching for her biological family.
He states: “My adoptive mother sadly passed away in 2010, which was devastating.
“I wonder if my mother is alive at the time.
After becoming a mother, I really started to feel sad. I didn’t know where my mother was or if she was alive.
“I missed my adoptive mother very much and I wanted her to be my mother in my life.
“I felt a lot of love when my children were born. I thought it must have been painful for my mother to leave me.”
At the time of Catherine’s birth, her mother was 23 years old, and it turned out that he could not take care of her.
In August 2021 they met on FaceTime.
Catalina said: “I was so nervous my husband had to convince me to dial the number.
It was amazing to see his face on the screen.
“He speaks English fluently and I can’t speak Spanish fluently, so our phone often rings and he smiles. I use Google Translate to talk to him.”
“We talk a lot about the past. I heard that I had a half brother 18 months older than me, my grandparents grew up and my mother had no children and she was no longer married.
“This is not the conversation I want to have with him on the phone, so I haven’t asked any hard questions yet.
“I cried over what was said about my adoption and my life, and I know he feels terrible about my concessions.
“I wrote him a letter telling him to forgive him. I don’t think he’s done anything that needs forgiveness. He left me for my love, but I knew it meant a lot to him and I hope I can calm down.” “
Catherine’s adoptive son also greeted her and added: When I told him about Ximena, he told me: “You will never have many families.”
“For me, finding a newborn mother helped turn my life into a perfect circle. Whatever happens now, I know who I am.
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Source: Metro
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
