Stacey Faix gave birth to a newborn boy at the age of 15 and placed him for adoption. He finally found his biological mother after nearly three decades.
Stacey Faix, at the age of 15, had to make a difficult decision. The adolescent discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to a newborn boy and placed him for adoption since she was not yet prepared to take on the responsibilities of motherhood. Even though her life will never be the same again, time passed. The child was adopted and given the name Stephen Strawn. Stephen moved to Ohio with his new family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up and joined the United States military.
Stephen sought to find his birth mother over the years but was always unsuccessful. His birth records were destroyed in a flood, according to ABC News. This made it even more difficult to locate her. However, in November 2017, a new rule went into effect that permitted adoptees to request that their birth certificates include the names of their original birth parents. This finally allowed Stephen to put the pieces together and assist in the search for his biological mother. He eventually tracked her down and made contact the next morning.
Veteran surprises his biological mother at the Pittsburgh Half Marathon after searching for her for years: https://t.co/DjqYjT3zOD pic.twitter.com/8S87LR56XW
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) May 8, 2018
Thomas Faix Jr. on YouTube
A video of the reunion has been shared to YouTube, and it is heartbreaking. Stephen devised a complex plot to surprise his biological mother. He discovered Faix was a member of Pittsburgh’s Team Red, White, and Blue (RWB) chapter, which aids veterans. As a veteran who belongs to the Ohio chapter, he contacted the president of the Pittsburgh branch to arrange the reunion. He found out about the marathon and that Faix would be racing in it. “All the support is incredible,” he said. His biological sisters also helped to organize the surprise reunion.
Someone delivers a letter to Faix and clears space around her in the video. She is perplexed as she tears open the letter to read it. Stephen had sent her a letter in which he said that they hadn’t seen each other in 13,075 days. He had been hiding in a temporary restroom until his wife gave him the all-clear signal. Faix was perplexed by the letter’s contents as she searched for the son she had given away 35 years before. He was there when Faix turned around. She dashed over to hug her kid.
The reunion was emotional, and it’s not an exaggeration to say there wasn’t a dry eye in the park. “They didn’t want me to hold him, they didn’t recommend it,” Faix recalled about the time she had given birth to Stephen. “So I finally got to hold him.” In Stephen’s words, everyone did an “ugly cry.” After the teary reunion, the mother and son ran together in the half marathon. Later, they went to have a cookout where they continued to “ugly cry” and caught up with each other. “For the parents, who had to give up their children for whatever reason, don’t lose hope,” Faix said.
This is the beginning of a wonderful relationship. Their families enlarged that day because they resolved to stay in contact. “It’s something you see in the movies,” Stephen said. “Everything was perfect.” When one of his biological sisters graduated from college, he and his wife returned to Pittsburgh to celebrate. He also intended to invite his new family to Ohio for a summer barbeque. When their touching tale went viral, Stephan wrote on Facebook, “It makes me feel so happy from everyone’s outpouring of love and great thoughts!” It’s wonderful to know that we have such a wide support network surrounding us, and that others can sense the goodness in our hearts!