Aba do ed
as
a
baby
i
1960,
David
Steve so
fi ally
discove s
his
biological
family
afte
66
yea s.
David
Steve so
has
spe t
mo e
tha
six
decades
sea chi g
fo
a swe s
about
his
past
afte
he
was
aba do ed
as
a
two-day-old
baby
i
Lo do
i
1960.
He
ece tly
appea ed
o
This
Mo i g
alo gside
his
cousi
Saskia
Va
De
Hoeve ,
whe e
he
ope ed
up
about
his
ext ao di a y
jou ey
to
discove
his
biological
family
mo e
tha
six
decades
afte
bei g
aba do ed
as
a
baby.Steve so
was
fou d
i
the
co ido
o
the
thi d
floo
of
a
block
of
flats
whe
he
was
just
two
days
old.
Although
his
adoptive
pa e ts
told
him
f om
childhood
that
he
had
bee
adopted
a d
fou d
as
a
baby,
he
said
he
did
ot
thi k
much
about
his
past
while
g owi g
up.
Becomi g
a
fathe
cha ged
eve ythi g
fo
David
Steve so
Steve so
evealed
that
his
desi e
to
fi d
his
biological
pa e ts
became
st o ge
afte
he
became
a
fathe
himself.
Holdi g
his
so
fo
the
fi st
time
made
him
thi k
diffe e tly
about
his
ow
sto y.“As
you
saw
i
the
p og amme
that
was
show
last
ight,
it
was
eally
the
mome t
whe
I
became
a
fathe
a d
I
held
my
so
fo
the
fi st
time,”
he
said.“Fo
a
lot
of
aba do ed
child e
a d
adoptees
ge e ally,
it’s
that
mome t
whe
it
cha ges
f om
just
bei g
you
to
also
bei g
a
pa e t
you self.
That
eally
d ove
me
to
wa t
to
lea
mo e
about
whe e
I’d
come
f om,”
he
added.Steve so
also
said
his
adoptive
pa e ts
we e
suppo tive
of
his
decisio
to
sea ch
fo
his
biological
family.
He
desc ibed
his
childhood
as
a
happy
o e
a d
said
he
had
o
ese tme t
towa ds
his
bi th
mothe .“I
always
ealised
that
my
bi th
mothe
must
have
go e
th ough
a
ve y
difficult
time
i
he
life.
She
was
p obably
a
you g
woma ,
a d
I
so t
of
imagi ed
the
ci cumsta ces,”
he
said.
David
says
he
had
o
ese tme t
towa ds
his
bi th
mothe
Reflecti g
o
the
social
ci cumsta ces
of
the
late
1950s
a d
ea ly
1960s,
Steve so
said
bei g
a
u ma ied
mothe
was
heavily
stigmatised
at
the
time.“I
the
late
50s,
ea ly
60s,
you
k ow,
bei g
a
u wed
mothe
was
t uly
a
te ible
thi g,”
he
said.He
added
that
the
social
stigma
made
it
pa ticula ly
difficult
fo
you g
wome
to
seek
help.“It
made
it
ve y
difficult
fo
you g
wome
i
that
situatio
to
each
out
a d
get
help,”
Steve so
said.I
2009,
Steve so
a d
his
wife
also
lau ched
a
atio al
campaig
to
fi d
mo e
i fo matio
about
his
biological
family.
Despite
i vestigati g
people
who
had
lived
i
the
block
of
flats
whe e
he
was
fou d
a d
followi g
va ious
clues,
the
campaig
i itially
failed
to
p oduce
a swe s.
DNA
helped
David
fi d
his
biological
family
The
b eakth ough
eve tually
came
th ough
DNA
esea ch
co ducted
as
pa t
of
Lo g
Lost
Family.
His
cousi
Saskia
Va
De
Hoeve
explai ed
how
the
family
discove ed
the
co ectio .Acco di g
to
Va
De
Hoeve ,
the
p og amme’s
DNA
i vestigatio
established
a
co ectio
to
the
Nethe la ds.
Afte
he
au t
a d
iece
p ovided
DNA
samples,
the
family
ealised
that
David’s
biological
mothe
was
likely
Pet a,
Va
De
Hoeve ’s
au t.She
ecalled
eceivi g
a
pho e
call
f om
he
b othe
with
the
u expected
ews.“My
b othe
called
me
a d
said,
‘Saskia,
please
sit
dow .
I’ve
got
somethi g
to
tell
you,’”
she
ecalled.The
family
the
c eated
a
g oup
chat
called
“Rai bow
Baby
David”.
Whe
a
photog aph
a d
ewspape
a ticle
about
the
aba do ed
baby
we e
sha ed,
Va
De
Hoeve
said
she
immediately
ecog ised
the
co ectio .“Whe
I
saw
it,
the e
was
o
doubt
i
my
mi d,”
she
said.Va
De
Hoeve
also
said
Pet a
had
wo ked
as
a
au
pai
i
F a ce
a d
late
i
Lo do ,
which
matched
the
timeli e
of
David’s
aba do me t.
David
was
hea tb oke
to
lea
his
biological
mothe
had
died
While
the
DNA
discove y
fi ally
a swe ed
some
of
his
questio s,
Steve so
faced
a othe
emotio al
evelatio :
his
biological
mothe
had
al eady
died.He
said
meeti g
his
ewly
discove ed
elatives
i
Rotte dam
was
eve theless
a
i c edibly
mea i gful
expe ie ce.
Va
De
Hoeve
helped
him
build
a
pictu e
of
the
mothe
he
eve
had
the
oppo tu ity
to
meet.“I
eally
got
a
pictu e
of
a
woma
who
was
ve y
ki d
a d
ge e ous
a d
lovi g,
a d
it
just
makes
me
ve y
sad
that
I
eve
got
to
meet
he ,”
Steve so
said.Pet a’s
siste
is
still
alive
a d
ca
p ovide
mo e
i fo matio
about
he
life
a d
pe so ality,
givi g
Steve so
a
oppo tu ity
to
lea
mo e
about
his
biological
mothe .
‘It
was
a
i c edible
expe ie ce’
Steve so
said
his
ewly
discove ed
family
welcomed
him
wa mly,
despite
havi g
o ly
lea ed
about
his
existe ce
weeks
ea lie .“The
afte oo
we
spe t
togethe
whe
I
met
them
was
such
a
joy
because
this
family
was
i c edibly
welcomi g
a d
accepti g
of
me,”
he
said.“They’d
o ly
k ow
about
me
lite ally
fo
weeks,
whe eas
I’d
had
yea s
to
come
to
te ms
with
the
idea
of
a
bi th
mothe .
So,
it
was
a
i c edible
expe ie ce.
It
eally
was,
a d
o e
that
will
stay
with
me
fo
the
est
of
my
life,”
he
added.Steve so
is
ow
pla i g
to
etu
to
Rotte dam
to
meet
mo e
of
his
biological
elatives.“I’m
pla i g
to
go
back
to
Rotte dam
i
a
couple
of
weeks
to
meet
mo e
of
the
family,
mo e
of
my
cousi s.
So,
it’s
ve y,
ve y
exciti g,”
he
said.Fo
Steve so ,
the
decades-lo g
sea ch
has
fi ally
b ought
a
se se
of
peace
a d
a
cha ce
to
build
ew
memo ies
with
the
family
he
eve
k ew
he
had.
