Tammy Oswalt was heartbroken when she gave her newborn son up for adoption 18 years ago. She didn’t want to let him go but found herself in dire circumstances.
She had split from her son’s father, who had addiction problems, and she and her two young daughters were on the brink of homelessness.
She wanted her son - whom she’d named Bruce - to have a better life, and reluctantly gave him up for adoption.
“A mom doesn’t give up her child like a sack of potatoes," Oswalt told Inside Edition.
"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.”
The difficult decision haunted her for many years afterwards. Tammy received some updates from the parents who adopted Bruce and renamed him Dylan, but she struggled with depression for years afterwards.
“I tried to commit suicide,” she said. “The emotional guilt and loss overwhelmed me.”
Although Tammy learned to cope with the depression as the years went by, she never forgot about her young son.
Little did she know that Dylan was also curious about his biological mum and wondered what had become of her.
Dylan tracked down Tammy’s daughter, Sammy Hewett - his older sister - and made contact with her.
Dylan and Sammy texted for some months, but he told her he wasn’t ready to meet his mother yet.
Eventually, Sammy shocked her mother with the announcement that she’d been in touch with Dylan. “All these questions were running through my head,” Tammy explained.
Soon afterwards, Tammy was delighted to have her first phone call with her long-lost son but didn’t press him to meet up with her.
Just after Tammy’s birthday, Sammy invited her mum out for dinner to celebrate. However, there was a big surprise in store for Tammy – Sammy had invited Dylan along to meet his mum, as a surprise.
“As soon as she said, 'Meet your son, Dylan,' I broke," Tammy said.
"I waited almost 19 years for this moment, and all I could do was say, ‘Oh my God, I love you. You’re beautiful.’”
Tammy discovered that Dylan lives only 90 minutes away, and she is planning on visiting him soon.
“I feel so complete now," Tammy said. "Everything I ever wanted, I now have. I’ve got what matters, and that’s family.”
