When Tammy Oswalt was invited by her daughter Sammy for a special birthday dinner, she had no idea what she was in store for.
Family Ties
Oswalt lives Orlando in Florida, close by to her daughters, who mean the world to her. She tried to teach them good morals and respect, being a single mother, she did the best that she could with what she had. Yet on this night, their omission of the truth, would deeply affect her.
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Birthday Surprise
Oswalt was over the moon when her oldest daughter Sammy invited her out for a special meal to have some quality time together. She didn’t realize, however, that her daughter had actually prepared a birthday surprise, to celebrate her mother’s 53rd birthday, but this surprise would surpass her expectations.
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What Was In Store?
Oswalt arrived, she had no idea how the evening would unfold, in fact she just thought it was going to be a simple meal. The doting daughter had managed to organize quite an unexpected gift. In fact, in Hewett’s own words, it was a present “that money can’t touch. What would it be?
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Hated Surprises
Oswalt usually hated surprises. Yet this surprise would be something that she would no doubt remember for the rest of her days, but was it worth it?
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Strict Orders
She had given strict orders to her daughter that she didn’t want any gifts, and she just wanted to celebrate in a low key way with her loved ones. She sort of gave her daughter the idea without even realizing it. She would soon enough.
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Giving Away Just A Small Clue
The first clue Oswalt received that she was about to be surprised came when Hewett pulled out her phone and started recording. Nothing, however, could have prepared the mom for her latest birthday gift.
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Live Stream
So that others could also experience this moment, Sammy live-streamed Oswalt’s reaction on her Facebook page. To prepare her mother for what was about to come, Hewett warns, “You know how I do random, unexpected stuff, right?”
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Anticipation Hits
As Oswalt waited heart pounding in anticipation and nerves, Hewett announced, something, that she never would have expected. Never in her wildest dreams could she have prepared for this moment. She was truly taken aback as her daughter announced to the live feed what the surprise was.
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Had To Be A Dream
“I want you to meet your son, Dylan.” With that, Oswalt placed her head in her hands, she couldn’t believe her ears. She turned around in her chair, and locked eyes with the son whom she hadn’t seen in over 18 years.
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Happy Birthday Mom
Instantly, Oswalt was lost for words, her mouth dropped and she jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around the young man who hugged her back in return. The pair enjoyed a long embrace for a few moments as Hewett continued filming. Then, after watching her mom and her brother enjoy the moment, she said with love, “Happy birthday, mom.”
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Long Lost Son
The man in the video is Oswalt’s long-lost son. In the late 1990’s Oswalt was a single mom with two daughters and another baby on the way. But she had split up with the father of her unborn child before she even knew she was pregnant. This was an extremely hard time for her.
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Not Many Options
At this time, Oswalt was struggling to make enough money to support her family, and she was close to being homeless. As a result, she made the devastating decision to put her baby up for adoption.
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She Had To Explain Her Reasons
Her reasons were selfless: she wanted to give her son a life she was unable to provide. It hurt her so much to do it, but she knew that at this point she didn’t have another option.
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It’s Time To Say Goodbye
When the day came, and she had to give him up, just as he was born, it was such a happy day that she had brought her baby into the world, yet clouded by such sadness that she had to give him away. There was no other choice, but it hurt her more than she could describe. Especially as she had no support and was on her own.
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Broken Heart
The decision broke Oswalt’s heart. “A mom doesn’t give up her child like a sack of potatoes,” she told Inside Edition in October 2017. “All I could give him was love and sometimes that’s not enough. I had to make the decision to give him up because I did love him.”
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Handing Him Over Took A Dark Turn
After handing her son over, Oswalt was affected badly, and she soon fell into a spiral of depression and even contemplated taking her own life. “I tried to commit suicide,” she admitted. “The emotional guilt and loss overwhelmed me.”
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Gone But Never Forgotten
In time, though, Oswalt managed to lift herself out of her depression. And as the years passed by, she was able to put her guilt to the back of her mind. However, even as her life moved on and as she raised her daughters, she never forgot about her only son.
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Tracking Down His Mother
And it appeared that he never forgot about his real mother, either. In fall 2017, Dylan tracked down Hewett’s telephone number using the internet. However, though the siblings communicated in private for some time, Dylan was still unsure about reaching out to his biological mom.
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Time To Reach Out
Eventually, Hewett told her mother about her secret conversations with Dylan. Of course the news left Oswalt confused, angry and shocked. “All these questions were running through my head,” Oswalt later revealed.
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So What Now?
After a few months, Dylan finally agreed to speak to his biological mom over the phone. And although Oswalt’s mind was bursting with questions for the young man, she didn’t put pressure on her son to meet up with her. She wanted to wait until the time was right.
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Waiting Until The Time Was Right
And that time came in the days following Oswalt’s birthday when Dylan surprised her at the restaurant. Describing that meeting, in October 2017 Oswalt told the Daily Mail, “The moment I looked back and saw him, so much ran through me. There was so much love, I just wanted to hold and kiss him.”
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Broke Down
And in her interview with Inside Edition, Oswalt added, “As soon as [my daughter] said, ‘Meet your son, Dylan,’ I broke. I waited almost 19 years for this moment. All I could do was say, ‘Oh my God, I love you. You’re beautiful.’”
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Coincedence
It also turned out, that Oswalt and Dylan only lived 90 minutes apart from each other. As a result, they both intend to meet up, and get to know each other more. And for one of their initial meetings, Oswalt planned to watch Dylan play soccer for the very first time.
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New Chapter Ahead
With an exciting new chapter unfolding ahead of her, Oswalt was looking forward to the future. “I feel so complete now,” she said. “Everything I ever wanted, I now have. I’ve got what matters and that’s family.”
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A Real Family Reunion
As Christmas came around, Oswalt felt that she couldn’t let another celebration go by without her son, and invited him to her house for the annual holiday family meal, to meet all the family and friends. This was definitely overwhelming for him, and he didn’t know if he should go.
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What Would He Decide?
After giving it much thought, and even consulting with his adopted parents, they all agreed, that this would be a special occasion and that it would only be right to go, it would make his mother so happy, and he could finally feel like he belonged to his biological family.
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Family Reaction
When he rang the doorbell, he was very nervous, heart pounding, at the thought of meeting all the friends, and his cousins. Yet once the door opened, he was greeted by outpours of love and affection. They ran up to hug him, and welcomed him in with open arms. They even made a stocking for him above the fireplace, and had presents for him waiting to be opened. This was a Christmas they would all never forget, and the start of something truly amazing.
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What Would Happen Next?
From that day forward, he felt like he belonged. He really felt a sense of home with his biological mother, and he made it a resolution to go and visit and spend time with his real family whenever he could. Of course Oswalt was thrilled, and felt as though her dreams had come true. Sammy was also over joyed as she had a brother.