When people go through the adoption process, their biological parents are usually never seen or heard from again. However, the widespread availability of DNA testing has resulted in some touching stories about birth parents discovering their children and vice versa. Melanie Pressley’s life was forever transformed after she took a DNA test.

She became pregnant when she was 18 years old.She was initially intent on keeping the baby and raising him as her own. Her boyfriend at the time, who was opposed to her becoming a parent at such an early age, refused to accept that child . Melanie, on the other hand, was determined on keeping the pregnancy.

She eventually realized that being a single mother at that age was not practical. So she gave the baby up for adoption after giving birth. She hardly got to hold the kid after giving birth.

Melanie was not allowed to hold her son on the day of his birth. She asked a nurse to allow her hold him after a day, and the nurse agreed. But it needed to be done quickly and quietly. Melanie explained to News5Cleveland:

‘She said, ‘I’ll take you into a private room so she can hold him,’ and ‘Take as much time as you need.’ My sister took a picture of me holding him at that point, and that was the last image I had of him for the next thirty-three years. That was the only image of him I had.’

Melanie would think about the newborn baby more than normal on his birthday every year.

Melanie married and had three more children after the adoption. She seemed to be leading a quite happy and satisfied life. However, she couldn’t stop thinking about the baby she had given up for adoption.

It became more acute around June 17th, the birthday of her first child. Despite the fact that she thought about the child all of the time, she felt a special sense of melancholy on that specific day.

Melanie thought about her kid for 33 years while he grew up and lived a good life.
Greg was the baby’s name after he was adopted by a loving family in Virginia. His parents told him he was adopted when he was about ten years old.

Despite the shocking news, he handled it with ease. He didn’t know anything about his birth parents and didn’t go out of his way to find out for a long time. He says:

‘I’ve never been very curious. ‘I don’t see a star who looks like me,’ or ‘No one who is a king or queen in some foreign nation resembles me,’ I’d always joke. And I always claimed it was a joke.

It was just my way of having that quick response in my back pocket whenever someone asked; I’d never really given it any thought.’

Greg had a wonderful life. He finished high school, married, and had children of his own. He decided after many years that he wanted to learn more about his past. 23 and Me, fortunately, was having a sale.

‘One night, my wife and I were sitting and talking, and I said, ‘I don’t know anything about my medical history, genetics, or where I came from.’ And there was some sort of 23andMe project going on. As a result, I took the exam.’

Melanie recognized she wanted to discover the son she had put up for adoption about the same time. Gregory joined 23andMe in 2019, the same year her mother passed away.

Melanie waited until Spring 2021 to do her own DNA test. She received her results soon after taking the test. Gregory Vossler seemed like a good fit for her. Melanie messaged him since she had a strong suspicion he was her son.

She asked the question she had been hoping to hear for a long time as soon as they could certify their relationship. She was wondering about whether he was satisfied. Gregory affirmed that he had led a happy and fulfilling life.

Melanie and Gregory decided to meet after months of emails and texts.
They were both cautious, wanting to be sure they were genuinely connected before getting too excited. Gregory eventually drove out to Ohio.

It was the first time they’d ever heard each other speak. They talked for 17 hours straight after their emotional reunion. Gregory also had the opportunity to meet many of his birth family’s relatives.

They’re starting to work on their relationship more now, and they’re becoming closer.

Gregory has been invited to family weddings and continues to speak with Melanie since his trip out to meet his birth mother. Melanie and her husband will also be visiting Virginia to meet Gregory’s family.

Both mother and son are enthusiastic about their new relationship. Melanie told Cleveland’s News5:

‘I’m just thrilled that the ball is moving, and I’m going to take it all in and appreciate it.’ Enjoy the small ones whenever we have the chance to see them.’

Gregory has also discovered how much love he has within himself: ‘It’s an incredible experience.’ And that simply goes to show that there’s always room for families to develop and more love to be shared among them.’

Learn more about this poignant story by watching the video below!