A Chicago man who went searching for answers about his family history found a sweet surprise when he finally connected with his long-lost birth mother for the first time.
Vamarr Hunter was 35 years old when he learned he was adopted after his biological mother gave him up after giving birth to him when she was just 17 years old.
Hoping to solve the mystery of his birth story, Hunter took a genetic test. The shocking results revealed that his mother, Lenore Lindsay, lived in the same South Side Chicago neighborhood as Hunter and was the owner of Give Me Some Sugah, a local bakery Hunter frequently visited.
Lindsay, who was dealing with health issues when she met her son for the first time, said the pair’s connection was instant. She said she believes it was God who brought them together and allowed Hunter to take over her responsibilities at the bakery while she focused on getting better.
“The connection was so immediate. I can’t even explain it. It was just like everything in my heart just broke open,” Lindsay told ABC News 7 Chicago in an interview. “It’s the most joyful story and time of my life that in my senior years, all of this has come together.”
Now, the mother and son work side by side at the bakery every day. Hunter says he hopes to keep the business in the family, passing it on to one of his four children when he eventually retires. Although they won’t be able to get back any of the time they lost, Hunter says he plans to enjoy the time he does have with his mother and the rest of his new-found extended family.
“You can’t make up for time and days gone by. What you can do is properly utilize the time that you have,” he said.