DIDSBURY - After searching for years for her birth father, a local woman got the surprise of her life when he showed up on her doorstep just before Christmas.
Cari Sinkinson, who was adopted as a baby, spent many years searching for her birth parents, a task that was very difficult because the adoption records were sealed. She eventually met up with her birth mother and was finally able to contact her birth father, who lived in Ontario, through Facebook.
When he showed up at her door in Didsbury on Dec. 24 she was stunned. She had no idea he and her family had been planning the reunion.
"I was speechless," Sinkinson said. "I couldn't form words. I was in shock. I was so excited and happy. I had imagined how a reunion with my parents would go. It was completely different in my mind than it did in real life. I could not say anything. I just stood there and I shook so intensely. I don't know how I stayed standing."
Sinkinson, who grew up in Calgary, said she was always curious about who her birth parents were and where she came from.
"I had two wonderful parents," she said. "They always expressed to me that I was adopted even before I knew what it meant. They were very supportive. They always told me they would help me find them (my birth parents) when I was ready."
When Sinkinson turned 18 she decided to look for her birth parents.
"There weren't that many resources to turn to," she said. "As time went on more stuff became available through the Internet and social media."
After Sinkinson's adoptive parents passed away she began to look for her birth parents more seriously.
"Before that it was on and off," she said. "It was something I really wanted to do. There were questions because I had children at that time. I wanted medical backgrounds and history information."
She filed to see her adoption papers in 2004 after her adoptive father passed away and finally got to see the names of her birth parents.
Even having their names, it was still a labourious task to track them down since she didn't know where they lived or if their names had changed.
I went on Canada411 and just went through names, calling for my birth mother, said Sinkinson.
"No one knew who this woman was," she said. "I called the last number and it turned out to be her uncle."
Sinkinson was able to get the number for her birth mother from the uncle.
"I had my husband at the time call because I was a little scared of rejection," she said. "I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle it. She thought it was a joke. No one had used her maiden name in many years. When he explained who I was she broke down and cried."
Her birth mother lives in St. Albert and Sinkinson has since talked to her a number of times on the phone. In 2007, at the age of 27 she was able to meet with her in person and catch up.
"We hit it off," she said. "We have a lot of similarities. We're like two peas in a pod. We've had a good relationship ever since."
Sinkinson's birth mother was able to get her in touch with her birth father, Steve Gosselin, who had been living in Ontario.
Gosselin is a former crack addict who used to be homeless, but is now rehabilitated and giving inspirational speeches to addicts.
"She helped me look for him," said Sinkinson. "We had been using the wrong name-Stephen instead of Steve."
The two eventually found the right name and the right person and Sinkinson was able to track down her birth father. They eventually began messaging each other on Facebook. They were set up to video chat a short time later when he suddenly showed up on Dec. 24.
"We spent six days getting to know each other," she said. "It was a lot of information overload. So many questions, so many stories."
Sinkinson suspected there may have been something going on since everyone around the house was acting secretive before the meeting, but she had no idea what.
Sinkinson's boyfriend and her two sons, who are 13 and 15, are very accepting of her birth father.
"They love him," she said. "They love his stories. They're very accepting of him and his wife."
Her boyfriend Jeremy Cliffgard helped put together the surprise meeting. He said it took a lot of planning but was well worth it.
"It was quite an adventure," said Cliffgard. "They ended up being rerouted to Edmonton. They got lost trying to find our place. To see her face was really good. We got it all on video. I've never seen her so happy."
Sinkinson is very happy to be in regular contact with both birth parents through texting, phone calls and Facebook.
"I couldn't form words. I was in shock. I was so excited and happy."Cari Sinkinson
