A Gatineau man was lucky enough to be reunited with his birth mother 46 years after their split.
“Twenty years ago I wasn’t ready for that. I thought about it, but I wasn’t there in my life yet. Lots of uncertainties. Do you want to know something about me?” says Jean-Luc Martin, cinematographer at TVA Gatineau-Ottawa.
Mr Martin therefore initiated the procedure through the Government Adoption Service of Prince Edward Island, where he was born. He also performed DNA testing and received help from the Valoris organization in Eastern Ontario.
One thing led to another, and last September he finally met his half-sister for the first time.
“I was sitting on the porch. She arrives, she runs towards me… I don’t know how to describe it. It’s an incredible feeling. It was really…really special,” he admits.
The following month, they made their way to Prince Edward Island to surprise their birth mother. She will finally be able to hug Jean-Luc for the first time in 46 years.
“It’s great. It’s just great. My heart is full now, I can tell you that! Yes, it’s great, I never believed that this day would come. I didn’t believe in the day I would see him again,” says Darlene Matthews, Jean-Luc’s birth mother.
Jean-Luc experienced a moving reunion that he will not forget for a long time. He encourages anyone who thinks of following his approach.
“If anyone is lucky enough to do it, it’s to go through what I went through, do it. Oh yeah! Then it’s not over, the story goes on,” he argues.