After 20 years of searching for his mom, a Utah man was reunited with his birth man after she sent him a Facebook message. Even at a young age, Benjamin Hullerberg knew that he was adopted. Her adoptive parents, Angela and Brian Hulleberg, were open about his adoption. Since then, he has been curious about his biological mother, which he only knew as Holly. He tried to find her for years but to no avail.
On his 20th birthday, his mom messaged him on Facebook, and everything changed, Good Morning America reports.
A painful adoption
Holly Sheared got pregnant at 15. She placed her son for adoption as she felt Benjamin deserved a mother and a father, a home with a playset in the backyard, a dog, and everything she could not give him.
In 2001, the day before Thanksgiving, she met the adoptive parents she had chosen through an adoption agency. She only knew their first names, Angela and Bryan. The couple struggled to conceive and were ecstatic but worried about the teenager who made them parents.
Per KSLTV, Angela knew Holly loved Benjamin when she handed him to them. At first, Holly received pictures of Benjamin, but later, the updates stopped, and the adoption agency closed. She has lost contact with her son since.
The Hulleberg couple does not know much about the mom except her first name, Holly.
Benjamin said that he grew up wanting to meet his birth mom. He longed to talk to her and, more than anything, thank her for giving him up so he could have a good life and live a life full of opportunity. When Benjamin was 18, he started searching for her. He tried DNA testing, signed up for an adoption registry, and took a DNA test, hoping to find Holly.
Holly found him first
Benjamin, however, could not find his mom. Little did he know that Holly had been watching him from afar. She found him when she searched on Google and had been watching him through social media. She said she wanted to reach out to him, but there was so much going on in his life that knowing about her may compromise it.
However, on his 20th birthday, Holly finally summoned the courage to message her son on Facebook, saying he may not know her. She had no intention of flipping his life upside down, but she assured him that she still thinks of him every day. Holly then greeted him with a happy birthday.
Benjamin was ecstatic. He immediately arranged for him, Angela, and Holly to meet for dinner the next night. When they met, they hugged and cried for five long minutes.
Working at the same hospital
The mother and son also discovered something in common that night. They both work at St. Mark's Hospital. Holly works in the heart center, while Benjamin volunteers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Holly said they may have shared the same parking lot or floor, never knowing they were close.
Since the meeting, Benjamin has tried to see his mom once a week and has remained in contact with her children, his half-siblings, The Independent reports.
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