The choice that mothers make to give up their babies for adoption is always so mind-blowing to me. The strength it takes when it is a matter of choosing what is best for your baby is nearly unfathomable as a mom who had the means to keep her own son. The minute they put that boy in my arms, I would have been able to muster the strength to fight off a bear if it meant getting to keep him. Even though most of the time the decision is made out of selfless love, the child who is adopted never truly knows that for sure unless they get to meet their long-lost family.
Recently, a UK man discovered he was wanted and loved by his biological mom after finally meeting his long-lost brother. According to a press release and clips obtained by People, the UK Show Long Lost Family host Nicky Campbell met 44-year-old Mark to reunite him with his sibling decades after his older brother Martin, 55, was placed for adoption.
Mark told the show that his mother Diane, who died at 73, always slept with a photo of Martin as a baby by her bedside and even had a tattoo of him on her arm.
“I was always intrigued by this photo … this one was beside her bed. She had it tattooed on her arm, this picture, as well. He looks such a happy little chappy on there,” Mark said, per People.
“Somehow, I knew it wasn’t me. I would ask my [mom] ‘Who’s that?’ you know, and she was very vague, very — you know, elusive on it,” he elaborated. “Eventually, she said, ‘That’s your brother, yeah. He got taken away.’”
When Campbell first found Martin, he informed him about the special tattoo of him and the photo, instantly moving Martin to tears.
“At least she wasn’t averse to tats,” Martin, a musician, joked while wiping away tears. “They’re not everybody’s cup of tea.”
He learned that his grandfather “insisted” his then 19-year-old mom place him for adoption because she was unmarried.
Mark shared that him mom suffered from bouts of depression all his life and said the little photo she kept felt like a “large shadow” looming over the family.
The two had an emotional reunion on camera, saying that although it was strange to meet a long-lost family member, it was a great feeling to be reunited. The show aired October 16 and is available for streaming via the iTV Network.
If there is an afterlife, I sure hope this happy reunion brought their deceased mom some eternal peace.
