Teenager overjoyed after meeting her biological parents for the first time: 'Better than any gift'

Miracles come in all shapes and forms. For some, it can be getting tickets to a concert they've always wanted to go to or a good fulfilling meal for someone else. But for this teenager, it was all about meeting her family. Dayana Upchurch has never met her biological parents until last Christmas when she got to spend some merry time with her loved ones. “It was better than any gift I could get,” said Bryant Laws, Dayana’s biological father. “Finally seeing her and being able to hold her and touch her was a feeling that only a parent could understand.” Initially, they were all nervous to be in the same but after a while, it was okay and felt natural to them. They're all big huggers and it was the happiest moment ever, reports ABC4.

“It was just like ‘okay family, we are all here,’” said John Upchurch, Dayana's adoptive father. Bryant and his wife, Dayna who reside in Philadelphia said that the last time they saw Dayana was when she was just two days old. “It was nothing but tears. It was just sadness, emptiness,” her biological mom said. Dayana was put up for adoption and according to her biological parents it was the hardest thing the ever did but it was necessary due to some unavoidable circumstances in the past. An adoption agency showed them three suitable families who were willing to take Dayana in, out of which the Upchurches were the best option. “They showed us pictures of them with their other kids. They were hugging. They were on vacation. You could see the love through the picture. It wasn’t fake love. It was real love. The other kids — you could see the look in their eyes and the smile. You could see a lot of the body language. That’s what we wanted for Dayana,” Bryant said.

He continued, “We wanted her to feel loved. The other families didn’t have other kids, and we didn’t want her to have to be alone. They already had two other adopted girls. Just seeing the love they were sharing through the pictures and looking at their eyes and smiles, you could tell they were genuine.” The Upchurches recalled the very first moment they got to see and hold Dayana saying that it was a wonderful moment. “Nothing like​ looking at your baby for the first time,” said Jinny Upchurch. Dayana said that she reached out to Bryant, her biological father through Facebook messenger. “I started reading it and instant tears came into my wife and we were just looking at each other like the day’s here,” Bryant said. Ever since then, Dayana continued to facetime her parents along with her siblings, two sisters and one brother.  

“I always wanted a brother growing up, so being able to know I had one and to talk to that was even cooler,” she said. “To be able to see the similarities was cool. To be able to look at people that look like me was kind of wild. To be able to see and talk to them was a whole lot different than just knowing about them.” Her mother, Dayna said that Dayana and her husband, Bryant enjoyed their own company and talked about their love for Marvel and DC and just caught up with everything that had happened over the last 17 years. Dayana's adoptive parents, Jinny and John opted for open adoption and shared pictures and videos of Dayana with her biological parents as she grew up, such as her dance recitals, vacations, and first steps. “We always have been supportive. We knew there would be a day we would reconnect. We just didn’t know in what form that would be,” Jinny said.

When Dayana found her biological parents on Facebook, she was scared to reach out to them but she did anyway. “I was kind of nervous. It was a really big moment, but once you get over that mental block, it’s so worth it.” They spent Christmas together and they said that it felt like they were one big family. “Best Christmas ever,” Bryant said. “No words can express that feeling. The feeling of that first hug, the first embrace, the feeling of being complete.”