A Mother’s Heartbreaking Decision
Stacey Faix was only 15 when she became a mother. As a teen, she admitted she had no idea what to do and wasn’t ready for motherhood’s responsibility. She decided to give up her baby and put him up for adoption.
She never held or saw her baby since it was separated from her after birth. Her life moved forward, but she always felt that hole in her life. Stacey always felt her heart yearning for the little boy she gave up and hoped she would still get the chance to meet him.
A Son Searching
Stephen Strawn grew up in Ohio with his family. He was provided everything he needed in life – food, shelter, clothing, and education. He ended up serving in the U.S. Military.
You could say he had everything he needed, but Stephen knew something was missing. As an adopted child, he always longed to know his biological parents. Unfortunately, his birth certificate got lost in the flood, making his search for his birth mother more challenging. But a new law made gave him a massive lead for his search.
The law allowed adoptees to request a birth certificate that reflects the name of their birth parents. Stephen got his, and all he needed was a name: Stacey Faix.
It Runs in the Blood
Stephen started searching for his birth mother, which wasn’t so out of reach after all. He learned that Stacey was a member of Team Red, White, and Blue (RWB) Pittsburgh Chapter – an organization supporting veterans.
It was an extraordinary coincidence that Stephen was a veteran and a Team RWB Ohio Chapter member. He reached out to Team RWB Pittsburgh to help him surprise Stacey. He learned that their chapter was organizing a half marathon and that his mother would run in it.
Their world became much smaller after that.
Surprise Reunion
Stephen reached out to his mother when he found her name and contact details. Stacey said she always registered her number in the phonebook, half hoping that her son would soon reach out to her. She was right; mom’s intuition, I guess.
But the meeting in Pittsburg was the biggest surprise of their lives. Stephen was hiding behind a portable toilet with his wife on the watch to make sure the mother and son won’t get even the slightest glance at each other.
Stacey was in the middle of the field, huddled up with the rest of Team RWB. They were sort of holding a briefing before the marathon started. It was then that one of the team members handed her a letter. It was from Stephen.
Stephen said he wrote that letter a few days before the marathon and handed it to one of Team RWB Pittsburg. In the letter, he wrote how they had not seen each other for 13,075 days. Yes, he’s been counting.
That was all it took for Stacey to know that it was from her son, the one she had to give up when she was a teen. She looked around and saw him; tears flooded their eyes while the rest of the team clapped.
Watch the video below for their heartwarming reunion and how mother and son ran alongside each other during the half marathon.
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