Stacey Faix made the selfless decision to put her son up for adoption when she got pregnant at only 15 years old. Since his adoption records were lost in a flood, it was difficult for him to find his mother as an adult. However, after many years apart, they were finally able to reunite and share an emotional moment together.
Stacey’s son was finally able to find his way into her arms, thanks to a law that went into effect in November 2017.
Adoptees are now able to obtain birth certificates with their birth parents’ names listed, thanks to the new policy. Stacey didn’t know that her biological son, Stephen’s Strawn, was working on finding her until he sent his information to an agency and received his birth certificate a month later.
The following year, he surprised his mom at the Pittsburgh Half Marathon.She was running with members of Team Red, White, and Blue- a social organization that supports veterans – when he showed up. Right before the marathon, Stacey was given a letter that read: “It’s been 13,075 days since you last saw me. I didn’t want to make you wait one more.”
When she turned around, 35 years later, she discovered her son and finally got the hug she never received when he was born.
Stephen found Stacey on Facebook in April and told her that he would surprise her at the marathon. He explained their initial contact to Inside Edition, saying: “It was a big sigh of relief. I sent her a message and said, ‘Hey, I have a really weird question.’”
He continued: “I said, ‘Did you put a baby boy up for adoption in 1982?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘I think you may be my biological mom.’”
He added: “I got really choked up and teared up. As we were holding and hugging, she said, ‘I never got to hold you’ and that kind of just broke my heart. It was a prearranged adoption and it was not recommended for her to hold me.”
Stephen said: “We must have hugged about 10 different times. We get done hugging, look at each other and then hug again. It just felt really surreal that it was finally happening because it happened so fast.”
The mother and son ran the marathon together, with Stephen saying afterwards that, “The race was great. We finished in 2 hours in 50 mins but it was never about speed.”
The story deeply resonated with many people who took to social media to express their thoughts, one of which was: “Every child should have the right to know who his/her parents are, even if the parents don’t want the baby. The law should protect the most vulnerable (in this case the baby).”
Another person told their own story, which was strikingly similar and explained: “I was adopted at the age of six and found my biological Momma and the rest of my family when I was 30! I am the youngest of 15 siblings! What a reunion that was!”
