A WEDDING photographer spent her whole life searching for her birth parents – only to suffer a devastating blow after tracking them down.
Megan Kennedy, 37, grew up knowing she was adopted and on her 18th birthday applied for her original birth certificate to find her biological mum's name – Patti Neil.
After trawling a genealogy website – ancestry.com – she discovered her mum lived in Scotland and quickly tracked her down on social media.
Megan reached out to her birth mum, Patti, 64, on Facebook, who was delighted to hear from her.
The pair then reunited in Glasgow in June 2019, sitting and chatting for hours.
But Patti, a retired salesperson, died in February 2022 unexpectedly after struggling with stomach issues.
Tragically, Megan's birth father Johnny Cavalier, 62, died the same month from polycystic kidney failure – before they could meet in person.
In total, she has travelled over 4,000 miles across the world to reunite with her long-lost family – and despite losing both birth parents, feels she has found her "true identity" and "all her people".
Megan, from Birmingham, Alabama, USA, said: "It's almost hard to put into words how it feels – it's an immense feeling of peace.
"Every birthday I spent hours looking for Patti, it's amazing to think I will never have to look again.
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"It's bittersweet, but I'm so grateful I reconnected with my biological parents before they passed."
Recalling her first Facebook conversation with her mum, Megan admitted Patti didn't reply straight away, and she was terrified she wouldn't get a response at all.
"I told her thank you for giving me up for adoption – I introduced myself", she revealed.
"I wrote 'Hi this may be an odd message – I'm looking for my biological mom, her name was Patti Neil Whiting, I thought I looked a lot like you.'
"Patti replied: 'Oh my goodness. Megan you're beautiful – was just thinking about you last night.'
"I screamed – it was a guttural scream.
"Every dream and wish I had come true, every birthday I've ever had I've looked for her."
And on their reunion itself, she added: "I was so nervous but so excited.
"I felt every feeling you could have felt – we met at Glasgow train station and literally ran across the platform to hug each other.
"Everyone watching cried, it was like a movie."
Patti, who had dual citizenship, grew up Fort Worth, Texas, US, and when she was 27 went to go and live with her sister, Sherrie, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US.
She was married at the time but fell for "lady's man", Johnny, 24, who was a diver while working on the boats as a deck hand.
She told Megan they had a month-long affair and that's when their daughter was conceived.
Patti says she didn't tell Johnny when she fell pregnant – as she was already married and gave Megan up in the hope she would have a better life.
She gave birth in Mobile, Alabama, US, where Megan was adopted by Arthur Forehand, 71, a retired pharmacist, and Cassie Wilson, 72, a medical transcriptionist, through an adoption agency.
Unaware Megan existed, Johnny got married to a woman called Ragnhildur – two years younger than Megan – and the couple lived in Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras, with their seven-year-old son, Ajay.
Megan – mum to daughter Cora – joined her stepmum and half-brother to scatter her dad's ashes after his death.
And her family continued to grow from there as she also discovered she has a half-sister, Kayla, 30, on her dad's side and an aunt, Kathy, 66.
"I was ecstatic, I cried because I've always looked for a mother and a father – I never thought I would have siblings," she said.
"It was the biggest bonus."
She added: "I feel like a transformed person from the woman I was in 2019, I have found all of my people.
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"When you look at your biological parents and see your features in them, it is the purest self you have ever known.
"I've had therapy that was provided to me through my adoption agency, but I miss my biological parents every day."
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