Chilean Adoptee Reunited with Mother
“Tyler Graf – a 38-year-old firefighter in Houston, Texas – reunited with his birth mom, Hilda Quezada Godoy, shortly after becoming a dad.
Speaking to KTRK Houston, Graf explained: “I was adopted by a very loving, caring family.
“I think it was just knowing that my story did start before I was adopted.
“So, it’s kind of like missing the first five minutes of the movie.”
The dad-of-one was attempting to discover more about his birth family when he received a shocking phone call.
On that phone call, Graf learned “who I was, how they know who I am and what the true backstory really is,” he told the news outlet.
Graf told The New York Times about the emotional first video call with his birth mom.
He said: “Every muscle in my body tightened up and squeezed the tears in my eyes.
“I felt like I had been hit by a bat and was seeing stars.”
Weeks later his mom was flown to Houston to meet Graf in person.
“We hugged and she kissed me and we just stood there crying,” Graf said when describing the heartwarming meetup.
Stolen from his biological mom
Graf was stolen from his biological mom not long after he was born, he learned, but she was wrongly told he passed away.
The Houston firefighter was stolen from his birth parents and adopted by a family in the United States.
Graf was taken away from his birth mom through coercive adoption as Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was in power.
He was one of the thousands of babies who were taken away from their parents and trafficked across the globe.
However, his adoptive parents were unaware that his son was stolen.
When Graf’s birth mom first received word that her child was alive, she said she “wanted to scream.”
“I questioned a lot of things,” Godoy said. “The thought of if he was loved, if he ate well, if he spent time cold.”
Graf visited Chile after learning of the family he never knew, including his three biological sisters.
He told KTRK: “To be a good mother, it doesn’t take a fancy house, doesn’t take money. It’s pretty simple.
“It’s open arms and a huge heart filled with nothing but support and love.”
Document claims
According to the New York Times, Graf’s adoption papers noted his mom to be Hilda del Carmen Quezada, who gave birth to Graf on March 2, 1983, at the age of 26.
A judge’s note was also included in the documents, claiming that Graf’s mom had not much money and “other children to support.”
Graf’s mom was informed her son – who had been born three months early – had passed away.
She said: “Two weeks after the birth, they told me he had died.
“I asked for the body and they refused, saying it was too small.”
Connecting Roots
A few days ago Graf took to social media to share the link to a nonprofit organization he created called Connecting Roots.
The nonprofit group’s mission statement reads: “Connecting Roots is a U.S. non-profit organization whose goal is to reunite adoptees with their biological Chilean families.
“We donate MyHeritage DNA testing kits at no cost to confirm genetic matches between Chile-born adoptees and their families.
“We are dedicated to collaborating with partner non-profit organizations to raise awareness and help those affected by the 1980’s kidnapping operation that occurred during the Pinochet regime.”
I was STOLEN at birth and adopted by a US couple – a heartbreaking video shows my reunion with my mom 38 years later
[The US Sun 4/11/22 by Danielle Canon]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Recent Comments