EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) \u2014 For most of her life, Marie Claire Seoane didn\u2019t know where her story began.<\/p>\n
Inside her home hangs a painting of the woman who raised her \u2014 the adoptive mother she says gave her love and stability growing up.<\/p>\n
But Marie was adopted as a baby.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom was 19. My dad was 20. My grandparents didn\u2019t want me to be born, so she decided to go to a convent, give birth to me, and gave me for adoption,\u201d Seoane said.<\/p>\n
Despite the circumstances, she says she always felt loved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were the best parents. They were something else. I was very lucky and blessed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Still, like many adoptees, questions about her biological family remained.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou grew up with a lot of questions. Were you rejected? How are your parents are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For years, Seoane chose not to search for answers. But a serious illness changed everything.<\/p>\n
She was diagnosed with achalasia, a rare disorder that affects the esophagus. The condition makes it difficult for food and liquids to move into the stomach, often causing severe pain, malnutrition and weight loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have tried to accept the things and I have fight and I don\u2019t have the energy anymore. And I get weak. I lose balance and everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After spending weeks in the hospital, Seoane realized time was precious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really sick. I was six weeks on the hospital,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when she decided to do something she had never done before: take a DNA test.<\/p>\n
When the results came back, they eventually led her to a woman in Canada \u2014 someone she believed could be related to her.<\/p>\n
That woman was Natalie Billings.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the day that I got the text, I said to my mom, I think I found your sister,\u201d Billings said. \u201cSo it was shocking because I did ancestry in 2008, I think, and so we didn\u2019t find each other till 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
The discovery shocked both families.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she sent me the picture of my dad\u2026 I just stared at it. I said, \u2018Oh my God\u2026 that\u2019s my dad,\u2019\u201d Seoane said.<\/p>\n
Billings says once she learned about Seoane\u2019s health struggles, she knew she wanted to meet her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping that I can give her\u2026 I\u2019m gonna cry\u2026 the strength to keep fighting,\u201d Billings said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m hoping that me coming here will make her fight to stay alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not long after, the two met in person for the first time.<\/p>\n
After a lifetime of wondering about her biological family, Seoane says the reunion brought her peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinding them has been a light in my illness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She says her newly discovered family has already become a source of strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have opened their lives, their hearts. They have taken care of me. They call me every day just to make sure that I\u2019m okay,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Seoane hopes her story encourages others who were adopted and may be searching for answers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not betraying your parents, your adoptive parents, but you\u2019re finding a piece of yourself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After everything she has been through, Seoane says reconnecting with her family has brought her comfort.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like I felt at ease\u2026 after all that I have gone into pain, physical, mentally\u2026 when you\u2019re in my situation and in my stage of the illness\u2026 I feel that peace,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n