First Look Photos Show Moment Age 90 Mom Meets Daughter She Placed for Adoption 70 Years Ago
One proverb says, “An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship.” And as technology continues to advance, it seems to confirm that old saying.
How? DNA tests have started alerting people to family ties that they didn’t know bound them, ties that would’ve unconsciously slipped by in an earlier age. That’s exactly what happened to photographer Wanda Gale.
According to her professional Facebook page, Gale sent in her DNA to be tested. When she received the report, she was shocked to discover that her closest relative was a woman she did not know.
“When I clicked on her name, it said, ‘I am adopted and have never met my birth family,’” she wrote. You can imagine the shock that rocked its way through Gale.
“I thought, ‘Who is this woman?’” Gale told Today. Then she began to dig.
After doing some online investigating, she decided that it was time to reach out to the 70-year-old woman, named Lynne Wray, directly.
“I emailed her and anxiously awaited her phone call,” Gale said. “When we spoke for the first time, she told me her birth city and the only information she was given is that her birth mom is part Indian.
“She took the DNA test years ago in hopes of finding her birth family with no luck. Unable to connect the dots, I reached out to my Mom and Grandmother.”
“Bless her heart, she was so excited,” Gale’s grandmother, 90-year-old Beth Pullen, recalled. That was when Pullen decided to come clean.
She explained to Gale that she and her husband had placed their first child for adoption. After learning Wray’s birthday, she stated, “OK, that’s my daughter. Praise God.”
According to Today, both of the women had been searching for one another. Gale decided that the only way to properly celebrate the momentous occasion involved using her photographic talents.
After Wray and Pullen spoke on the phone, she arranged for two to meet in person while she photographed the whole thing.
“I’m a wedding photographer, and I came up with the idea of the first look [shoot],” she said. “They were both really excited about the idea.”
Indeed, the photos are both joyous and heartwarming. One image shows Pullen as she lays eyes on her daughter for the first time in 70 years.
“To turn around and see somebody that looks just like you, it was pretty exciting,” Wray said. “I felt total love.”
“I looked at her face, and I knew that’s my baby,” Pullen said.
Other photos show Wray clutching her mother, sheer delight on her face. “It couldn’t have been any better,” Wray said.
“Once you find out you’re wanted, all the fear goes away,” Wray said. “The anticipation of rejection from a birth family was scary.”
After the meeting, Gale wrote, “My grandmother isn’t in the best health and has often questioned why God has kept her on this earth. Now she knows why!”
According to Today, that certainly wouldn’t be the pair’s last meeting. The mother and daughter now plan to spend more time catching up with one another.
“I feel so blessed,” Pullen said. “I didn’t give her away. I let her go for awhile. And when you give a gift of love, you get it returned a thousand times.”
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