A Sierra Vista woman who was adopted at birth used a DNA test to track down and reunite with her birth mother.
Sue Amundsen, a 47-year-old mother, and grandmother took Good Morning Tucson anchor Pat Parris along her journey.
When she got her Ancestry.com test results, Amundsen discovered several DNA matches. Within 48 hours of emailing the second name on the list, she was talking with her birth mother.
They met face-to-face earlier this month, after an anxiety-ridden flight for Amundsen to Cincinnati. The length of the three-hour flight helped calm her nerves.
At the airport, she met her mother and two of her three new sisters.
"Oh my gosh!" Amundsen said. "I've waited this long and fought so hard, and I did it."
Amundsen said embracing her birth mother was magical.
"I don't think you can ever understand that kind of hug she gave me," Amundsen said. "It wasn't the hug of patting you on the back. It was a real hug. And she was crying. For me, knowing that she was crying and this is what she wanted and that she loved me."
Amundsen then spent 10 days with her new brood. Her youngest sister welcomed her to the "crazy family."
She bonded with all three sisters during the span.
Amundsen had already learned about the abusive relationship that led to her birth mom placing her up for adoption. She got to know her and recognized several similarities in their personalities.
Now she simply calls the woman "mom."
