On the day that Michael Henry Ponic turned 50, his wife suggested he do one of those online DNA tests to try to find his birth mother.
If she were still alive, his wife reasoned, she must be having a hard time knowing that her son was now 50.
But Ponic wasn鈥檛 interested, seeing no point in trying again to dredge up the past.
The Sooke, B.C. resident had made an effort a few times over the years to learn more about the mother who gave him up for adoption in 1966. He knew a few things, such as her age and the fact that she used a back brace, but after a few fruitless efforts to have his adoption records unsealed, he gave up.
But this past December, the now 51-year-old changed his mind and decided he wanted to try the test. He and his wife ordered a kit from AncestryDNA, and Ponic prepared a saliva sample, though he admits he wasn鈥檛 very optimistic.
鈥淚 grudgingly spit into the cup,鈥� he told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview.
But within just a matter of weeks 鈥� and thanks to some diligent sleuthing from a newfound cousin -- Ponic tracked down his birth mother. And now, after learning the sad story of how he was born, he鈥檚 getting set to finally meet her.
Ponic says it was his wife who began to unravel his history. The service alerted them to a potential match and Ponic鈥檚 wife sent off an email.
That man turned out to be a second cousin in New Brunswick who just so happened to have sent in his own DNA sample not long before, to trace his genealogy.
Even then, Ponic wasn鈥檛 interested and left it to his wife to handle the correspondence.
鈥淎s it progressed, though, I became more and more curious,鈥� Ponic admitted. 鈥淣ow I鈥檓 ecstatic.鈥�
The cousin began making calls and, thanks to the clue about the back brace, soon figured out how this new family member in B.C. fit into the family picture: he was the long-lost baby of Diana Doucet, his mother鈥檚 cousin.
Doucet, for her part, had given up hope of ever finding her son, though she had never stopped thinking about him.
鈥淓very birthday, every Christmas, every Thanksgiving, I wondered鈥︹�� she told CTVNews.ca by phone between quiet sobs from her home in St. Thomas, Ont.
Doucet, now 71, was only 20 when she found herself unmarried and pregnant in her hometown of Windsor, Ont. in the spring of 1966.
Her mother was mortified and insisted she tell no one -- which Doucet was able to do because she says her pregnancy never really showed. Even Doucet鈥檚 own father never suspected and didn鈥檛 learn about his daughter鈥檚 baby until years later.
The young romance that produced Ponic ended with the pregnancy, and Doucet was forced to give birth alone. 鈥淲hen I went into labour, Michael鈥檚 father went to Florida,鈥� she said.
Nurses quickly whisked her baby away as soon as he was born. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 even allowed to hold him,鈥� she said quietly, holding back tears. And that was the last anyone in her family spoke of Doucet鈥檚 son.
鈥淲e never talked about it. It was just called 鈥榯he incident鈥� in my family,鈥� she said, before adding with a sigh: 鈥�...It was a different time.鈥�
Doucet went on with her life, but never had any other children. She became a secretary, left Windsor and married once, but it didn鈥檛 last long. And still, as the decades wore on, she wondered what became of the baby she never knew.
The local Catholic Children鈥檚 Aid Society refused to help her track down her son, she said. 鈥淭hey talked to me like I was dirt. So I just鈥� I just had to live with it,鈥� she said.
Meanwhile, her son had been adopted by a local couple who had no other children of their own. Ponic says he had an ordinary childhood in Windsor and has since learned he grew up just down the road from his mother鈥檚 childhood home.
鈥淚ronically, she grew up just five blocks away. I had to pass that house every day to go to high school,鈥� Ponic said.
When he learned through the cousin that his birth mother was still alive, he tracked down her email address through her sister, Mickie, who was the first to tell Doucet that her son had been found.
Ponic excitedly sent her a note in early February, but then, nothing. No reply. Doucet says she was too overwhelmed to write back, and spent 10 days simply crying.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 compose myself to write back. Every time I wrote something, I couldn鈥檛 send it,鈥� she said between tears.
Finally, she mustered up the courage and wrote, "Yes, you found your birth mother."
That led to a tearful phone call the next day. 鈥淎nd we鈥檝e been in contact by phone or email every single day since,鈥� she says.
Doucet says she never had a doubt Ponic was her son. For starters, there was the DNA match. Then, all the information he had about his birth was correct.
鈥淎nd then I looked him up on Facebook and there he was. I mean, he looked exactly like his dad. And me. He had his father鈥檚 chin and eyes like his dad鈥檚, and my cheeks,鈥� she said.
Now, the two are planning to finally meet, with Doucet flying out to Vancouver Island with a friend in a few weeks. She plans to stay 10 days, meeting Ponic and the daughter-in-law she never knew she had, and learn more about the grandson she now has through Ponic鈥檚 previous marriage.
Doucet is planning to bring along a lot of tissues.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to be a basket case,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 okay. I鈥檒l get through it. It will be hard but I want to do it.鈥�
In the few short weeks since she found her son, Doucet has gathered together photos of her new family into what she calls brag books and has been showing them to anyone who will listen, including her friends at her church in St. Thomas.
鈥淚鈥檓 telling everyone,鈥� she says.
And it was those friends at her church who helped pay Doucet鈥檚 flight.
鈥淢y church where I go, they gave me a party, because they were so happy for me,鈥� she said.
鈥�...Rather than give me booties and bassinets, they gave me money鈥� It was like a baby shower, just a late one.鈥�
Ponic says his adoptive parents died years ago, but he鈥檚 certain his adoptive mother would have been pleased to know he鈥檚 finally found his birth mother. And when they do meet, he knows his wife Karen will have all sorts of questions for her.
But Ponic himself says he鈥檚 just looking forward to finally meeting the woman who was forced to give him up all those years ago.
鈥淎ll I want to do is see my mum,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll that other stuff just kind of melts away. It鈥檚 all in the past. I鈥檓 just glad that I鈥檓 going to meet her.鈥�
