Feel Good Friday: A Reunion 40 Years in the Making

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - It was a dream more than 40 years in the making. A dream a local woman never thought could come true.

But sure enough, this month, we arrived Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport to find Myra Stevenson’s family hovering by a window, eyes glued to the tarmac.

“I just wanna hold him. This will only be the second time I’ve held him,” said Stevenson, tearfully.

She’s talking about Ben, the son she gave up for adoption 41 years ago. Stevenson was in her early twenties. She had been sent to live at a home for unwed mothers near her sister’s family in Colorado.

It’s a time that is still seared into her heart.

“I remember when I held him in my arms. I remember when they came and took him out of my arms and they told me this is the end, and to sign the final papers,” she says softly.

Then, around seven years ago, Myra’s eldest son went to work, tracking Ben down online. They only had few details to go on. Myra threw away the adoption paperwork years ago, believing she’d never find him again. But she thought about Ben every single day.

Somehow, they found him.

“There’s a part that’s missing when you have a puzzle,” Myra explained. “That puzzle needs to fit. But now I can say that it fits.”

Ben Adams now lives in Arkansas.

“It was scary because I didn’t know who they were. But as I talked to them a little bit, I found out that these are my people. I was excited because I’ve been looking for them just like they’ve been looking for me,” said Ben.

After years of speaking on the phone every day, Ben touched down in Toledo, to meet, and hug, his family for the first time.

Stevenson had been waiting to ask for his forgiveness. It turns out, that wasn’t necessary.

“I didn’t grow up with no problems,” Ben said, holding his mother close. “I had everything I needed and wanted. It really was a blessing for you to do that. Don’t ever think anything else other than that.”

Now, one chapter closes, and this family grows closer.

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