How social media helped this adopted woman reunite with her biological family

A college student who was adopted not too long after she was born took a chance on social media when she shared a viral post asking for information that could help her reunite with her biological family. Her dream finally came true as a result.

According to ABC11, it had always been Lydia MacNair’s wish to eventually meet her birth mom as well as her biological sister after she turned 18. So on Friday, she hopped on social media to see if she could get help in finding them. MacNair shared a photo of herself when she was a baby and her mother’s first name – Demonica. She also shared that she believed her mother hailed from north Raleigh.

“Social media now has the ability to find anybody. So, I was like, you know, let me just see if it works,” MacNair said.

The power of social media eventually manifested as someone got in touch with MacNair’s birth mother after recognizing the photo as well as her name. MacNair’s birth mother subsequently notified her daughter’s biological sister, Vivian Thorpe.

“I was at home and my mom called me and she was like, somebody, DM me, did you give someone away for adoption? And I was like, that’s strange. So, then she was like, Wait, there’s a name under it. And so I was like, what’s the name? So I typed in Lydia’s name, and then I found her post. And the baby picture that she posted is hung up in our grandma’s living room,” Thorpe said.

It was also revealed that Thorpe, who resides in Knightdale, had been similarly trying to find her sister. But the name she was using during her search was different. 

“That’s the only piece of the puzzle that I had to find her. And the crazy thing is, I tried looking for her for years, but her name was Michelle. So, I’m looking for Michelle, and I would have never found her without that post,” Thorpe said.

MacNair and Thorpe eventually connected some 10 hours after she shared the social media post. Thorpe drove to her sister’s home in Asheville the next day. 

“I couldn’t wait for her to get out of the car. And then when we just hugged for the first time, like, it just felt like everything. Everything came together. And I really felt like the missing piece in my life,” MacNair said. 

“When I hugged her, it was just like a dream. Like someone was going to wake me up. And this was not going to be real. I waited my whole life to have a best friend. Now, I have a best friend and sister,” Thrope also said.

The sisters also noticed they shared a lot of similar traits during their first meeting, ABC11 reported. “Our lives were totally similar, just an alternate universe. So, it’s talking to someone that’s been through the exact thing. The same things you went through, and they understand. It feels really good,” Thorpe said.

“We missed 20 years and it’s just like, wow, I have a sister like a baby sister. I’m a big sister now.” MacNair, who is said to be a shy and laid-back person, said she’s glad she took to social media to ask for help. “Just taking a chance on social media, because it really changed my life overnight.”

MacNair will connect with the rest of her biological family in December.