Lily found out about her birth family 12 years after her Centerville parents adopted her from China.
“I’ve just always wondered about them,” she said.
Particularly, she wanted to know why they put her up for adoption.
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Carrie Poynter, Lily’s mom, said a tip from a Facebook group pointed her to a 2014 article about Lily’s biological aunt who was searching for Lily. The story listed her orphanage and had her dad’s passport number.
“They had her name that she was called in the orphanage,” Poynter said.
But, the Poynters still had to wait on results from a DNA test.
“I got the message that it was a match for for Lily to go onto her 23 and Me account, and that’s when it, it said she had a sister,” Carrie Poynter said.
The next day, they told Lily.
“I cried. I was very, very shocked. I was very happy,” Lily said.
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Then, Lily learned that her birth mother died two weeks after she was born.
“So she was like, ‘so it’s my fault’ and I was like, ‘no, it’s not your fault,’” Carrie Poynter said. “What I was told is your mom wanted, wanted to make sure that she gave birth to you so she stayed alive long enough to give birth.”
“That was kind of sad to find out that she passed away, because, like knowing that I would never be able to meet her,” Lily said.
Lily, wanted by her family near, and far.
“You were chosen. You were meant to be with us,” her mother said.
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