An Edmonton woman has been reunited with her son 45 years after he was put up for adoption.
It鈥檚 only now, looking at old family photos together with his biological mother, that Jim Klein is finally learning where he inherited his blond hair from.
鈥淚 know my roots, I know my background. I just look forward to building on that,鈥� Klein told CTV Winnipeg after being reunited with his birth mother. 鈥淎nd, 鈥榃hat does that do for you?鈥� I feel more whole.鈥�
Czndhi Cyndhay was only 17 years old when she gave birth to Klein. She immediately gave him up for adoption.
She said this was mostly because of what she describes as 鈥渄ysfunction in the family.鈥�
鈥淚 didn't feel safe and wanted my baby to safe,鈥� Cyndhay told CTV Winnipeg. She felt that if she couldn鈥檛 provide that safety, she wanted another family to give her son the care he deserved.
While Cyndhay was recovering in hospital, she was given a photo of her infant son -- a keepsake which she hasn鈥檛 let go of ever since.
For years, her son was raised by adoptive parents in Manitoba. Klein says he was initially fine to never have met his biological mother.
鈥淚 had curiosity but I didn't want to have any feelings with my parents of disrespect,鈥� he explained.
KLEIN鈥橲 PARTNER PUSHED HIM TO TRACK DOWN HIS BIRTH MOTHER
When his adoptive parents both passed away, Klein was left with almost no family, but he still didn鈥檛 try reaching out to his birth mother.
In fact, it was nearly a decade later when that happened -- and it was only after his partner Michelle Ramos encouraged him to track her down.
Ramos filled out paperwork with Manitoba鈥檚 post-adoption registry and they crossed their fingers. Fortunately, it only took them six weeks to receive Klein鈥檚 birth mother鈥檚 name.
This past December, Ramos searched online and discovered Klein鈥檚 biological mother only lived two provinces over in Alberta. They connected and a month later the mother and son reunited in Winnipeg鈥檚 airport.
Cyndhay said she wept when she laid eyes on Klein.
鈥淚 cried, but I also felt at peace and I felt joy," Cyndhay recalled.
Their reunion was also particularly impactful for Klein鈥檚 partner.
鈥淚 wanted him to have his family. So when I saw (them) come down the escalator (at the airport together), I lost it a bit,鈥� Ramos told CTV Winnipeg.
Turns out Klein and his mother share an uncanny similarity besides their blond hair: they also both have the same Jan. 23 birthday.
The two have also discovered that they share a lot of the same interests, including their love of plants and being outdoors.
Klein said he doesn鈥檛 know much about his birth father yet, but said he鈥檚 interested in finding him one day as well.
