Two years ago, Marcy was scheduled for her an annual mammogram. Marcy’s physician required her mother’s negative genetic test results, since her family had a history of breast cancer. After Marcy received her mother’s permission to look through medical records, she came across documents leading her to believe she had an adoptive brother through Children’s Home Society of Washington in Spokane. The adoption took place in 1966, four years before Marcy was born.
“I wasn’t entirely sure what I had found and didn’t want to cause anyone worry or excitement until I had more information,” Marcy said. “My aunt was dying of cancer and my mom had health issues, so I was afraid bringing this up without more facts, would hurt my mom’s emotional well-being during an already stressful time.”
Due to confidentiality, Marcy could not reach out directly to the person she thought could be her brother. However, she was encouraged by CHSW to write a letter that could be passed onto him through their staff.
“I wanted to be careful not to hurt my brother in the event he didn’t know he was adopted,” Marcy said. “It turns out he had known from childhood about his adoption and called very quickly after receiving my letter. He also tried several years ago to search for his birth mom but didn’t have the details I had.”
They knew their mother must have had an important reason for placing her son into adoption. Marcy’s mother shared that when she was 21, she just graduated from college and had fallen in love with a man she thought she was going to marry. However, when he found out she was expecting, he left the relationship and Marcy’s mom was left alone with a difficult decision.
Marcy explained to her mother that she had found her birth brother. She had encouraged him to write their mom a letter.
“My mom was so happy to read his letter, she started crying,” Marcy said. “She immediately called her daughters to share the wonderful news. During my mom’s first call with my brother, she practically jumped out of her chair with excitement to talk to him. They started to communicate and got close during the summer of 2017.”
Marcy’s brother and his wife came to visit Marcy and her family in two years ago. It was an incredible visit, and their relationship continued to grow. Last summer Marcy met her brother’s youngest child and his adoptive parents.
“My brother’s adoptive mother hugged me,” Marcy said. “We were happy to meet. It was very special.”
This summer Marcy’s mother will meet her son’s adoptive parents for the first time.
“We’re all very excited and were surprised that CHSW had such thoughtful and complete information about my brother’s adoption,” Marcy said. “If CHSW had not done such a thorough job, we wouldn’t know our brother and these amazing families wouldn’t have been reunited.”
Jennifer Parsons is the marketing communications manager for CHSW.