Melanie Pressley wasn't ready to be a mother, so she gave her son up for adoption. After 33 years later, she's found him again.
Back in 1988, at the age of 18, Pressley gave birth to her baby boy. Knowing she wasn't sturdy enough financially to properly care for him, she made the difficult decision to go through an adoption agency.
Fortunately, they managed to find him a two-parent household. However, after he was taken away, all Pressley was left with was a photo of her newborn son from the day after his birth - until now.
In an interview with Fox News, Pressley said: "You go through a mourning period and yet live the rest of your life mourning."
Her son, Greg Vossler, is now 33 years old. He's also a father himself, which spurred him to take a DNA test in 2018 in the hope of learning a bit more about his genetics in lieu of any immediate biological family history.
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He said: "Everything checked out, but in the back of my mind, [the testing firm 23andMe] always suggests new DNA relatives. I was like, ‘You never know. Maybe one of these lesser connections will lead to something significant'."
In an amazing stroke of luck, Pressley had also received a 23andMe gift card from her daughter Rachel as a 'birthday-Mother’s Day combo', primarily because the test provides a health report.
She explained: "I lost a mother to lung cancer - who had never smoked or drank a day in her life. So, she was selling that to me, saying, ‘Oh my gosh. Then you’ll see if you have any of those genes or if there are any flags'."
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After taking the test, it soon matched Pressley and Vossler as possible relatives. She messaged him and asked his age, and when he confirmed he was born on June 17, the penny dropped.
She said: "His adoptive mother had written me a letter a couple of months after he was born. And she had said that when he is old enough, she will tell him [that he was adopted."
After months of emails and texts, Pressley and Vossler finally came together in person in June last year, as well as meeting each other's family, from his half-brother and two half-sisters to her daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
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Vossler said: "Life has a funny way of giving you what you need and not necessarily what you want. Sometimes those wants and needs do match up, but sometimes you don’t realise what you actually need until the future.
"Melanie’s family coming into my life at this point, has been a blessing. It’s kind of re-ignited some passions and excitement.”
Pressley added: "After finding him, I felt like my heart was just whole again... it’s just a blessing beyond blessings. It really is.
"If I could share one piece of advice, it would be: Don’t be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
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Cameron Frew