AskBmom Member Area

Lezli Adams...reunited birthmother
Tonya Wilson..reunited adoptee
Tom Sullivan...adoptee who found Birthmother and is waiting for contact
Pat Zimmer..reunited Birthmother
Ronnie McEntee..reunited Birthmother
Linda V....reunited Birthmother

Lezli Adams

I am what is referred to in adoption circles as a "birth mother" – a woman who has given up a child for adoption. In Dec of 1998 I began searching for the daughter I had unwillingly placed for adoption in 1968.(my relinquishment story) I had made other 'attempts' at searching through the years (newspaper article from 1990) but now I had a computer and learned there realy was a way to find her. I did not want to interfere in any way with the relationship she had with her adoptive family, which I hoped had been aloving one. Secretly, in my heart, I always hoped that my daughter would search for me. It didn't take me long to find her. I had her name by February and in March I finally got her phone number. I had thought about going through her parents and carried a letter around for a couple weeks waiting for the right moment to mail it.My sister made the first call for me. I wanted to be sure she knew she was adopted and that she wanted to talk to me.....SHE DID!! Now I spend a lot of time helping others search. The local newspaper wrote about this last Fall.I wrote this guest column about Birthmothers Day this year.

My Indiana Support Group..Reflections
My other interest...Kentucky Birthsearch
Picture of Lezli with her Birthdaughter

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TONYA WILSON

My name is Tonya, I am an adoptee that recently found her Bmom, thanks to all the help I received from Lezli (the owner of this page) and another lady Lezli introduced me to. I had been searching for my bmom for about 3 years, mainly for medical purposes after my first child was born. The main problem was I was born in one state and she was from another. So one day in mid March Lezli emailed me and told me she thought she had found someone who could help me, her name was Pat,so I told her to send Pat my information, and she did, this was on a Friday, by the following Monday evening, Pat had spoken with my Birth Grandmother and found out alot of information about my Bmom.

My bmom and I first spoke to each other on March 22,2000. It all happened so quickly that I didn't really have alot of time to freak out, but I did try.

My Bmom and I are alot alike, we have the same taste in alot of stuff and the same sense of humor(twisted). But the best part of all was knowing where I came from, and an added bonus is my 1/2 Sister and Brother, my sister and I are already very close and she has been to visit me at my home.

The only bad news I received from my search is regarding the Birthfather, after I had been in contact with my Bmom for about a month, I asked her about my Bfather, she told me what she knew and within a matter of days, he too had been found (they had never spoken again after she told him about my impending arrival). He has a disease called Muscular Dystrophy-Becker's to be exact, now there is a good chance that I am a carrier of this gene and that my son may develop this illness when he gets to be a little older.

I go for testing the end of June to find out for sure if I am a carrier. Just another reason we need access to our UPDATED Medical Records!

It has not been an easy road, but it has been a worthwhile journey, the ups and the downs, and there are plenty of them, are worth it in the long run, whether you have the great experience I had or whether your isn't so good, just remember "Knowledge is Power", everyone deserves the right to, at the very least their medical history and a sense of knowing who you are.
I live in Western Kentucky, if I can be of any assistance to anyone, please let me know. Always willing to make a trip to the library to look something up. Good Luck in your search, Tonya

Picture of Tonya with her Birthfamily

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TOM SULLIVAN

My name is Tom and I was born in December of 1969. I grew up in Lexington, KY but now live in North Carolina with my wife, Julie, and my daughter, Katie. It's hard to be biggest Kentucky basketball fan while being surrounded by fans of Duke, Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest, but we somehow manage to get through March Madness every year.

I met Julie at Miami University. That's the one in Ohio, not Florida. Most people don't realize that Miami was a college in Ohio before it was a city in Florida. We didn't get along at all when we first met, but she eventually came around and we just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary in May. This September will be our Daughter Katie's second birthday. Every day she finds a new way to make her Dad laugh and a new way to get me in trouble by acting exactly like me.

My family has always been very open about the fact that one of my sisters and I were adopted as infants. My Mother passed away when I was in high school, but when I was old enough my Father even gave me the entire file he had from my adoption.

This past March, I came across information about my original name and my birthmother's name. From there, it wasn't long before I found her. The first call to her was made by an intermediary on my behalf. The call appeared to go well, by my birthmother was recovering from an illness and asked for a few weeks to recover before moving forward.

Since then, I have sent some pictures to her and a couple short notes. I have tried to call a few times but so far, she has exercized her right to remain silent. I guess this biography will be a "work in progress" until she is ready.

Picture of Tom with his daughter

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PAT ZIMMER

My name is Pat Zimmer, and I'm a reunited bmom. I'm originally from Old Saybrook, CT, but have been living in the Jupiter, FL area, since transferring here in 1977.

My bson, Manning, was born in Bridgeport, CT on December 6, 1968. I found his amom, Lynne, in Macungie, PA, on March 19, 1999. One hour later, I was speaking with my only child, who now lives in Phoenix, AZ.

Shortly after finding him, I was approached by a reporter for the Palm Beach Post (the largest newspaper in Palm Beach County, FL), and was interviewed for a story on searching for and finding Manning. That story was on the front page of the Mother's Day issue of the Palm Beach Post on May 9, 1999!

Manning and I had our first f2f on May 13, 1999, when he and his girlfriend arrived here for one week. At Palm Beach International Airport, besides the newspaper reporter and photographer, were reporters and cameras from our local ABC and NBC affiliates.

Needless to say, it was a wonderful moment, meeting my only child for the very first time! But somehow, it was like we had always known each other in our hearts and souls. He's so very much like me in his personality, favorite colors, music taste, taste in food, even down to the way we hold our pens! But, he looks identical to his bdad, who at this time, has decided not to be in his life.

Both Manning and I believe that ALL adoptees deserve to know their heritage, their medical backgrounds. For the sake of their lives. Far too many adoptees have died because they didn't know their medical histories. And, far too many will continue to die if records are not opened.

Pat's site dedicated to her son

Picture of Pat with her son

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"Adoption leaves a permanent scar on a Birthmother's heart."

Linda V.

Hello my name is Linda and I am a birthmother who searched and found my birthdaughter. It was a very long and rewarding search.
On my 18th birthday April 14, 1965 I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in Ft Lauderdale FL. I named her MaryBeth. Because I was unwed and only 18 years old, I was forced by societies rules to allow my parents to put my daughter up for adoption.
Everyone told me that putting my child up for adoption was the best thing I could do for her, under the circumstances. They said, I needed to forget about her and to go on with my life as if nothing ever happened. Why did they think that I, being the loving child that I was, would be able to do this? For the next 33 years my body and soul ached for this child of mine and I was determined to find her if it was the last thing I did. I always felt that my daughter had the right to know me if she wanted to. That she also had the right to meet her siblings. One sister and two brothers from me and two sisters and one brother from her birthfather.
In August of 1998 I had the opportunity to get a computer that had access to the Internet. With the help of a member of the Sunflower Birthmom Support Group that I joined on the internet and a searcher friend of hers and many others, I found my bdaughter on 1-14-99. Here is my story......

Linda's Story

From MaryBeth To Muguet An Adoption Story

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