One Test Changed Her Life For The Better
Like almost every adopted child, Chrisleann Casarez (now Amburgey) grew up wondering what it would be like to know her birth mother, maybe to enjoy things like birthdays and holidays with her.
She doesn’t have to wonder any more. Out of curiosity she took a DNA test. Lo and behold, it led her to her birth mom, Zina Rodriguez Bosman.
That was in 2019. Since then, they have worked hard to make up for lost time as Chrisleann, now, was given up for adoption at birth.
“I did a DNA test, and coincidentally my biological sister did, too, at the same time. I did to find out any history I could,” Chrisleann recalled. “I took the Ancestry test and it took a month to come back. My sister did the same at the same time – then she sent me messages on Facebook and was shocked.”
Unfortunately, she did not get to reunite with her biological grandparents, who have passed on, but she did find plenty of other relatives – along with her birth mom.
“I found an aunt that I adore and we talk. I’m the oldest of eight – one sister deceased. I’m accepted by three siblings and we text and visit,” she said.
And though Zina lives in San Antonio, they are in constant communication.
“She is, in my eyes, my only mother,” Chrisleann said. “We probably visit two or times a year, but talk daily if not weekly. She’s a big part of my (three) kids’ life. She is grandma.”
Chrisleann said her reaction to the discovery was “surprise, shock, disbelief and relief.”
“The first hug I instantly recognized her smell,” Chrisleann said.
Zina had, likewise, been wondering about her daughter all these years, wondering what such a reunion might be like.
The Missing Piece
“It feels like the missing piece of the puzzle of my life has finally been found. My life is complete,” she said.
Chrisleann said it is uncanny how alike she and Zina are even though they did not know each other for three and a half decades.
“We have the same taste in foods, clothes and things. Even the same size and body type,” she said.
Zina added that she is proud of the woman her long-lost daughter grew up to be.
“I am very grateful to all the people who took part in her life and raised her to be such a wonderful person,” she said. “I felt blessed that she wanted to meet me.”
