Adopted woman with only a few years left to live finds hope in long-lost family—
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – A Texas woman battling a rare disorder has found hope looking into her past. Adopted as a baby, she always wondered about her biological roots, and now, she has a new reason to fight to stay alive: her long-lost family.
Inside the home of 62-year-old Marie Claire Seoane hangs a painting showing her and the woman who raised her – the adoptive mother she says gave her love and stability growing up after she was adopted as a baby.
“My mom was 19. My dad was 20. My grandparents didn’t want me to be born, so she decided to go to a convent, give birth to me and give me for adoption,” Seoane said.
Despite the circumstances, Seoane says she always felt loved. Still, like many adoptees, questions about her biological family remained.
For years, she chose not to search for answers – until a serious illness changed everything. She was diagnosed with achalasia, a rare disorder that affects the esophagus. The condition makes it difficult to swallow, often causing severe pain, malnutrition and weight loss.
“I have tried to accept the things, and I have fought. I don’t have the energy anymore, and I get weak. I lose balance and everything,” Seoane said.
Doctors have told Seoane she only has a few years left to live. After spending six weeks in the hospital, she realized time was precious, and she decided to do something she had never done before: take a DNA test.
Adopted as a baby, Marie Claire Seoane (right) has a new reason to keep fighting a rare disorder after she discovered her long-lost biological family.(Source: Natalie Billings, KVIA via CNN)
The results led her to a woman in Quebec, Canada – someone she believed could be related to her. That woman was Natalie Billings.
“So, the day that I got the text, I said to my mom, ‘I think I found your sister,’” Billings said. “So, it was shocking because I did ancestry in 2008, I think, and we didn’t find each other ‘til 2025.”
The discovery shocked both families.
“She sends me a picture of my dad. It’s like the spitting image, and as I remember, I sat down on the floor… and just cried,” Seoane said.
Billings says once she learned about her long-lost aunt’s health struggles, she knew she wanted to meet her, so she flew to El Paso, Texas.
“I’m hoping that I can give her… the strength to keep fighting,” Billings said. “That’s what I’m hoping: that me coming here will make her fight to stay alive.”
After a lifetime of wondering about her biological family, Seoane says the reunion brought her peace, and her newly discovered family has already become a source of strength.
“Finding them has been a light in my illness,” she said. “I’m so thankful because they accepted me. They have opened their lives, their hearts.”
Seoane hopes her story encourages others who were adopted and may be searching for answers. She says searching for your biological parents doesn’t mean betraying the family who raised you.
“You’re not betraying your parents, your adoptive parents, but you’re finding a piece of yourself,” she said.
After everything she has been through, Seoane says reconnecting with her family has brought her comfort.
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