Doctors told woman she gave birth to a stillborn—35 years later, a Facebook message changed everything in her life
It is a heart-shattering revelation that moms can lose their babies even after carrying them for 9 months. Stillbirth is one of the greatest fears pregnant women carry and for those who unfortunately experience it, life is never the same. There is a void they hold for years, wondering what life would have looked like with their baby alive. For then-20-year-old Esperanza Regalado, she held a void for years, until a message changed her life, per La Provincia. Regalado from Spain had given birth to a baby boy, but unfortunately, the doctors informed her that he was stillborn. However, 35 years later, she learned something that became the only consolation.
Regalado recalled having a cesarean under the pretext of being able to sedate her completely, per Newsner. When she awoke, the doctor at the private hospital named Felipe Coello de Santa Cruz, Tenerife, told her that she lost her baby. Bereaved at the news, Regalado asked for the body of her son and the paperwork so she could put him to rest. However, the doctors shunned the topic and assured her they would take care of everything. Being heart-wrenched about her loss, the would-be mom decided to trust the doctors and let them do their job. She never got to see her baby or his body. While she always doubted it, she had to live with the ache for nearly 4 decades.
Around 35 years later, the woman received a text on Facebook that shocked her. The message came from a man, Carlos Santana. She did not know who he was but the duo eventually established a friendship online and shared random bits of each other’s lives. After a certain amount of interaction, Santana left Regalado baffled with a question. It read, "Did you have a stillborn child? It's me.” Unable to comprehend what this meant, she collapsed to the ground. As they eventually discussed, she realized her supposed stillborn son had never died but was stolen.
Being a 20-year-old single woman at the time, she was the easiest victim for the doctor who stole her baby. They gave her anesthesia and conducted the C-section as a planned motive to steal the child. So, while Regalado was shattered throughout, trying to fill the void in her, her son was very much alive and thriving. Santana was going through family documents years later when he came across a woman’s ID. He did not know about his birth nor who his birth mother was. The man never thought about the ID, but eventually, something felt suspicious and he decided to investigate.
That’s when he contacted the woman identified, Regalado, via Facebook to discover the most profound truth of his life. Reunited again after 35 years, Santana is grateful to be back with his birth mother and 5 siblings. Though they live in different areas and have their own families, they are determined to stay closely connected. The mother and son refuse to dwell on the past and the pain of their separation and want to focus on all the possibilities and bonding the future will bring. The duo planned to catch up on the time they lost in the best way possible and were sure never to separate from each other again.