wfgodot
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This is a sterling story, an inspiration as well as a tearjerker. Steve Hydes was discovered at Gatwick Airport in a bathroom two and one-half decades ago - on the anniversary of his being found, he is actively seeking his birth mother. Today - 04.10 - is the 25th anniversary of Hydes's abandonment.
I was the Gatwick baby
The Gatwick staff cared for the newly found infant brilliantly:
'I was the Gatwick baby': Man left at airport 25 years ago
returns to meet those who found him on quest to find his mother
I was the Gatwick baby
The Gatwick staff cared for the newly found infant brilliantly:
At first, Beryl thought the baby's mother was in a cubicle; then, she thought maybe he'd been accidentally forgotten. But as she cuddled him outside the ladies, and no one appeared to claim him, the terrible truth began to dawn. The mother wasn't coming back. The baby had been abandoned.
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Their words, preserved under cellophane in a photograph album, bear witness to the extraordinary effect a helpless, motherless baby has on the adults he or she comes into contact with. One of the policemen at the scene describes how "when all the fuss had died down, Gary was fed by Sergeant Ahmed Ramiz, who had bought the milk himself".
(the rest of this story, brilliantly told in a feature length, must-read article which tracks Steve Hydes's efforts to discover his identity, at Guardian link above)I want her [his birth mother] to know that I'm not angry with her and there will be no publicity if she comes forward. But there are so many things I'd like to ask her, and so much I'd like to know about my background, and Alanna's [Hydes's daughter]. And it's not just a mother I'm hoping to find it's an extended family as well. I might have siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, even grandparents."
("You chose life for me" - absolutely beautiful. Stunning. Rarely do five words resonate so loudly. The rest of the Daily Mail story - including pictures taken not long after he was found [and with the Gary Gatwick teddy bear!] at link below)Last year he wrote an open letter to his mother which was published in the Daily Mirror saying: 'Don't be scared to get in touch, I just want to give you a big hug and say thank you.
'You chose life for me and left me somewhere safe to be found, for that I will always be grateful.'
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She [a Gatwick employee present on the day Steve was found] said: 'I wanted to take you home, but they wouldn't let me.
'When we found you you were very clean, you wore a lovely little blue outfit as far as I remember.
'You wore that and you were very clean and very contented. Your mother looked after you.'
'I was the Gatwick baby': Man left at airport 25 years ago
returns to meet those who found him on quest to find his mother