Jenessa Simons found her birth mother through this Facebook photo. (Facebook)Thanks to Facebook, a young Utah woman met her birth mother for the first time yesterday.
On January 27th, 21-year-old Jenessa Simons posted a photo on Facebook of herself holding a sign that asked for help finding her birth parents.
She included all the information she knew: her birth date, the fact
that she was born at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, and that she
was adopted out of Provo. Her birth parents named her Whitney.The image quickly went viral and was shared more than 27,000 times by the next evening. That number soon skyrocketed to over 80,000 shares.
Also see: Boy Scouts of America consider ending gay ban
"I figured a few friends might share it, but this has been overwhelming," Simons tells KSL at the time. "It's mind blowing."
Simons turned 21 in November, the minimum legal age in Utah where you can apply to find your biological parents, the Herald Sun reports.
Two days after posting the photo -- Simons, who is married with one child -- found them.
"Everyone I am happy to announce that I found my birth mother :D Thank you so much for everything you all have done for me, I have been on the news, and done interviews, and because of all of you, I have found my birth family :D THank you all SO SO much," Simons wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
A woman who went to high school with Simons' birth parents heard about Simons' search and contacted the birth mother and Simons.
Simons was skeptical at first — until the woman sent her a photo.
"She sent pictures of me as a baby that my mother had given her," Simons tells ABC News affiliate KTVX-TV.
Then Simons' birth mother contacted her.
"She did send me a message on Facebook and said, 'I think I'm your birth mother. I can't believe it's you. I've waited all this time,'" Simons tells ABC 4 News.
Also see: Are 'empty nests’ a thing of the past?
Simons insists her adoptive parents were supportive of her search for her birth parents — and want to meet them, too.
"I have an amazing family. I could not have asked to be raised by better people," Simons says. "I just want a chance to say thanks."
The Herald Sun reports that Simons met her biological mother for the first time on Wednesday. She plans to meet her biological father soon.
Simons now hopes to help other adopted children use social media to connect with their birth parents.
"I found my birth mother just because 70,000 people shared that picture and took one second of their day to hit share and I found my family," she says.
No comments:
Post a Comment